Vicarious anxiety: A systematic evaluation of a vicarious threat to self-esteem

Nonattachment Predicts Empathy, Rejection Sensitivity, and Symptom Reduction After a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Among Young Adults with a History of Childhood Maltreatment

Objectives

Individuals with a childhood maltreatment history tend to have various psychological symptoms and impaired social functioning. This study aimed to investigate the related therapeutic effects of a mindfulness-based intervention in this population.

Methods

We analyzed self-report questionnaire scores of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Non-Attachment Scale (NAS), Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (A-RSQ), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), PTSD CheckList (PCL), and Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), from 16 (3 males) young adults (age range 22-29) with mild to moderate childhood maltreatment, compared to 18 matched participants (6 males) on a waiting list, during both pre- and post-intervention/waiting periods. Analyses were conducted with linear mixed effects models, partial correlation analyses and t-tests.

Results

There were group by time interaction effects with the scores of MAAS, NAS, PCL, IRI-Fantasy, and A-RSQ (p < .05). The mindfulness group had significant increase in MAAS (17.325%) and NAS (8.957%) scores, as well as reduction in PCL (15.599%) and A-RSQ (23.189%) scores (p < .05). Changes in non-attachment, but not mindfulness, had significant contributions to the score changes of PCL (16.375%), ASI (36.244%), IRI-Personal Distress (24.141%), IRI-Empathic Concern (16.830%), and A-RSQ (10.826%) (p < .05). The number of intervention sessions attended was correlated with score changes of NAS (r = .955, p < .001), and ASI (r = -.887, p < .001), suggesting a dose-dependent effect.

Conclusions

Findings from this pilot study suggest that the mindfulness-based intervention improved mindfulness, non-attachment and empathy, which contributed to reduced interpersonal distress, rejection sensitivity and other psychological symptoms.

Intimacy and Isolation: A Validation Study of Erikson's Theory

This study sought to establish the concurrent validity of Hamachek's operationalization of Erikson's psychosocial stage of intimacy/isolation with a measure of counselor trainee empathy. The study surveyed 74 entry-level counseling students. The results revealed a significant positive relationship between the measures of psychosocial stage resolution toward intimacy and counselor trainee empathy.

Vicariously Learned Helplessness: The Effects of Viewing a Model Experiencing Uncontrollable Events

The effects of viewing a model experiencing controllable or uncontrollable events were studied within a learned helplessness framework. Ss were 58 college students, 22 males and 36 females, with a mean age of 19.8 years. Naive observers witnessed naive models attempt to solve a solvable or an insolvable discrimination task. Then both models and observers were administered an anagram-solving task. Results failed to demonstrate a learned helplessness effect for either the observers or the models. Although not statistically significant, models in the insolvable condition solved a greater number of anagrams than models in the solvable condition, contrary to expectations based on previous studies (6.92 vs. 6.00). Results support recent claims that the learned helplessness effect is easily influenced by modifications in the experimental setting, particularly when anagrams are used as the dependent measure.