E-ISSN : 2733-4538
Individuals with social anxiety may ruminate for hours or even days over their perceived social failures after being in a social situation(e.g., social interaction), a process known as post-event rumination(PER). PER is unproductive and theoretically maintains anxiety, possibly through rehearsal and elaboration of negative social memories. Despite this theoretical emphasis, to date, PER has not been studied extensively in the context of social anxiety. In order to examine the influence of social interaction on PER in socially anxious people, we measured changes in skin conductance level of 19 individuals with high social anxiety(HSA) and 19 individuals with low social anxiety(LSA) during social interaction tasks. In addition, PER was measured using post-event rumination scales after a recovery period and after three days. Results indicated that although physiological arousal levels in the social interaction did not differ between the HSA group and the LSA group, the HSA group showed more delayed recovery from it than the LSA group. Also, subjects in the HSA group reported that they experienced higher levels of anxiety and thought more frequently about social interaction than those in the LSA group after social interaction. These results provide empirical support for the idea that PER would play a crucial role in development or maintenance of social anxiety.
The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy(MBCT) Program on depression, impulsivity, and drug abstinence self-efficacy of drug addicts. Those in the center for drug addiction and those in jail for drug addictions were tested using the Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale(BIS), and Drug Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale. The inclusion criteria were those who were diagnosed as having addiction to narcotics or who were in a prison for a drug crime, those whose abstinence symptoms had disappeared, and those who had not received reatment for psychiatric diseases other than narcotic addictions, antisocial personality disorders, and impulse control disorders. Fourteen subjects who satisfied the above criteria were assigned to the treatment group(n=14) , while another 14 subjects were assigned to the control group(n=14). The MBCT program ran for nine sessions over the course of two months; each session was 90 to 120 minutes long. A total of six people, three from the treatment group and three from the control group, dropped out during this program. Twenty two participants (treatment group n=11, control group n=11) were assessed for depression, impulsivity, and drug abstinence self-efficacy during pre-test and post-test periods. The results of this study showed a significant decrease in the scores for depression, impulsivity, and drug abstinence self-efficacy in the treatment group, compared to the control group. Drug abstinence self-efficacy was enhanced. Finally, the implications and limitations of this study were discussed, and suggestions were given for further research.
The aim of this study is to understand the dream experiences of schizophrenia patients. The Typical Dreams Questionnaire (TDQ), the Dream Intensity Inventory (DII), and the Inventory of Dream Experience & Attitudes (IDEA) were implemented in two groups: One group included 46 normal people, and the other group included 46 schizophrenics. We compared the dream experiences of the two groups and investigated the relationship between various symptoms of schizophrenia and their dream experience. The results showed the followings. In terms of typical dream themes, the schizophrenia group more often experienced the categories of dreams related to epiphany, beasts, and persecutory ideas, compared with the normal group. Regarding the dream intensity, the schizophrenia group showed more altered dream episodes than the normal group. Regarding attitudes toward dreams, the schizophrenia group showed higher scores in dream significance, dream apprehension, and dream entertainment. In addition, hallucination of the schizophrenia group was found to be related to all factors of dream intensity. The implications of these results along with the significances and limitations of the research were discussed.
This study was conducted in order to evaluate sensitivity of two levels of delay discounting tasks and to determine whether levels of task reward could discriminate people with diverse status of health-related behavior. Reward magnitude was used as an independent variable. Participants included 202 undergraduate students (87 males and 115 females, mean age 20.03(SD=1.88)). Each participant performed two levels of delay discounting tasks and completed the Barratt Impulsive Scale-11(BIS-11). They were classified into groups according to their status on two health-related behaviors, smoking and drinking alcohol. According to the results, the discounting rate was significantly higher when the value of reward in the discounting task was lower. In addition, the group of people who smoke or drink alcohol reported a significantly higher discounting rate in the task with lower value of reward. However, delay discounting task with higher value of reward and BIS-11 did not explain the differences between the groups. Results implicated that reward magnitude in delay discounting task may influence sensitivity of the task. This suggested the need for careful selection of the amount of reward of delay discounting task when evaluating impulsivity. Additional information and limitation for future research were discussed.
This study attempted to determine whether the relationship between mothers' overprotection and behavioral inhibition, and worry were mediated by perceived control. Overprotection Scale, Behavioral Inhibition Scale, Anxiety Control Questionnaire, and Penn State Worry Questionnaire were administered to 306 high school students and data were analyzed using structure equation modeling. According to the results, indicated that the effects of mothers' overprotection and behavioral inhibition trait on worry were mediated by perceived control. These findings suggest that programs for treatment of worry should be focused on mothers' overprotection, behavioral inhibition, and cognitive vulnerability such as perceived control. Finally, implications, limitations, and some suggestions for the future studies were discussed.
There has been a need for development of a preventive intervention for borderline personality disorder (BPD). In the current study, we developed a self-compassion cultivation program (SCCP) for young adults with the features of BPD, focusing on trauma and self-compassion, and then examined its effects. This six-session group intervention consists of methods for cultivating participants' self-compassion, integrating their traumatic memories into their life stories and shifting the direction of their lives from protecting their safety to realizing their full potential. Undergraduate students with the features of BPD were assigned to three conditions: self-compassion, distraction, and waiting-list conditions. Participants in the self-compassion treatment condition showed significant increases in the levels of self-compassion and psychological well-being. In this condition, participants showed improvements with regard to difficulties in emotional regulation, negative affect, depression, anxiety, and stress responses. The self-compassion treatment condition resulted in significantly larger improvements on most of dependent measures (except for positive affect), compared to the two control conditions. Overall, the results indicate that the SCCP may be a useful intervention for preventing development of BPD as well as for cultivating self-compassion. Finally, implications and limitations of the current study were discussed along with suggestions for future research.
This study examined the effect of self-compassion on psychological maladjustment (depression, NPD, and BPD) and well-being (satisfaction with life and psychological well-being), and the moderating effect of self-compassion in the relationships between self-esteem and psychological health. The Self Compassion Scale(SCS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(RSES), the Beck Depression Scale(BDI), the Borderline Personality Disorder Scale(BPDS), the Narcissitic Personality Disorder Scale (NPDS), the Satisfaction with life scale(SWLS) and the Psychological Well-being Scale(PWBS) were administered to 269 college students. According to the results, self-compassion plays a differential role in the hierarchical effects of self-esteem and self-compassion on psychological maladjustment and well-being. In addition, in the relationship between self-esteem and psychological maladjustment(depression and BPD), the moderating effect of self-compassion was significant. The conceptual implications of self-compassion and the usefulness of self-compassion in clinical intervention were discussed.
The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of Psychodrama on dysfunctional beliefs, fear of negative evaluation, emotion regulation, and depression in a social phobia-prone group. In G city, 76 participants confirmed as having social phobia or who had experience symptom of social phobia were recruited through advertisements posted on the internet and billboards. We then selected 51 participants with social phobia bias using the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale; only the 20 participants who met the criteria through interviews were included in the study and 10 participants each were randomly assigned to the control group and the psychodrama group. Because one participant from the psychodrama and one participant from the control group droped out, a total of 18 participants participated throughout the study. The psychodrama program was administered for two days with four sessions per day. Pre, post, and three-month follow-up tests were performed against all participants using the Short Version of the Dysfunctional Beliefs Test, Fear of Negative Evaluation-Brief, The Korean Version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The results of this study were as follows: dysfunctional beliefs, fear of negative evaluation, difficulties in emotion regulation, and depression of the therapy group showed a greater decrease compared with the control group. Finally, the implications and the limitations of this study, and suggestions for future study were also discussed.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effects of self-presentation motivation, self-presentation expectancy, and ambivalence over emotional expressiveness on the relationship between internalized shame and social anxiety. A total of 427 college students completed The Internalized Shame Scale, Self-Presentation Motivation Scale, Self-Presentation Expectancy Scale, Ambivalence over Emotional Expressiveness Questionnaire, and Social Avoidance and Distress Scale. Baron and Kenny's method(1986) and Structural Equation Modeling were used for testing of each mediating effect. Because high self-presentation motivation and low self-presentation expectancy co-occur to trigger social anxiety, the difference in score between the two variables was analyzed as one mediator. The results showed both the difference between self-presentation motivation and self-presentation expectancy and ambivalence over emotional expressiveness had significant mediating effects. However, we modified the model because of unfitness of the previous suggesting model, which includes all mediators. This study found not only that the relationship between internalized shame and social anxiety was mediated in part by self-presentation motivation, self-presentation expectancy, and ambivalence over emotional expressiveness, but the conflict of self-presentation influenced ambivalence over emotional expressiveness.
The purposes of this study were (1) to identify developmental trajectories of social withdrawal in male adolescents and (2) to investigate the impact of temperament and parental behaviors on latent classes. A total of 602 students were recruited from a boys’ high school in the Seoul metropolitan area and were assessed four times approximately every eight months over a two-year period. The Parental Bonding Instrument and Junior Temperament and Character Inventory 12-18 were administered at the first time point and the Korean version of the Youth Self Report (K-YSR) withdrawal subscale was administered across all four time points. Results of Latent Growth Curve Modeling (LGCM) revealed that the linear model showed a better fit than quadratic model and the slope of the means was not significant. Latent Growth Mixture Modeling (LGMM) identified three latent trajectories; “High Stable”, “Low Decreasing”, and “Low Increasing.” Logistic regression analysis was performed for examination of the impact of temperament and parental behaviors on developmental trajectories. These analyses revealed that “harm avoidance temperaments” and level of “care” in parents were predictived of high risk trajectories. This study demonstrated the need for utilization of longitudinal approaches to understanding individual differences of social withdrawal behaviors in adolescents. Implications and limitations were discussed along with suggestions for future research.
This study examined the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Social Skill Rating System (SSRS) for elementary school students, using a sample of 830 children in South Korea. This sample was divided into two groups. Data from one group were subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and data from the other group were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and were also used to test the concurrent validity of the K-SSRS. EFA yielded four factors, consisting of 23 items in total: empathy, assertion, self-control, and cooperation. CFA confirmed this factor structure and showed that it was similar to that of the original SSRS, but also showed that the K-SSRS scores explained more variance in the data than the SSRS scores did. The K-SSRS had adequate internal consistency. Its scores showed a significant and positive association with scores for self-esteem. In addition, girls showed higher social functioning than boys. In conclusion, the K-SSRS is useful for the assessment of social skills in Korean elementary school students and it has good psychometric properties.
Most people prefer avoiding anxious feelings over experiencing them. However, the efforts to avoid anxious feelings result in paradoxical effects which are characterized by the amplifications of frequency, intensity and duration of anxiety. Therefore, clinical issues are not the experiences of anxiety per se but the efforts to avoid them. In this context, Bradley(2000) proposed that anxiety disorders reflect a combination of the experienced anxious feelings(i.e., experience component) and the efforts which an individual makes to deal with them(i.e., control component). What makes normal anxiety into pathological anxiety disorder is experiential avoidance, that is the dysfunctional attitude to psychological experiences. In present studies, the authors investigated the mediational effect of experiential avoidance in the relationships between harm avoidance and anxiety symptoms. Harm avoidance is the temperamental vulnerability to anxious feelings. In order to evaluate goodness-of-fit of the mediation model, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, cross-sectional data were collected from 328 undergraduate students and were analyzed by structural equation modeling method. The results of Study 1 revealed that experiential avoidance partially mediated the relationship between harm avoidance and anxiety symptoms. In Study 2, which was designed to examine whether the results of Study 1 could be cross-validated, short-term longitudinal data were collected from an independent sample and were analyzed by structural equation modeling methods. The results of Study 2 showed that experiential avoidance fully mediated the relationship between harm avoidance and anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest that temperamental vulnerability(i.e., harm avoidance) influences anxiety symptoms directly as well as indirectly, through mediation of the attitudinal vulnerability(i.e., experiential avoidance). Based on the findings, the authors discussed the implications of present studies in theoretical and clinical manner. Finally, the limitations of these studies were discussed along with suggestions for further research.
The aim of this study was to investigate the interpretation biases of the social anxiety group using facial expression emotional stimuli. SADS(Social Avoidance and Distress Scale) was administered to 636 college students, and the high social anxiety group(32 persons) and low social anxiety group(34 persons) were selected based on the scores of this scale. The social anxiety situation was manipulated to all participants in the experiment; then, the single facial expression stimulus and the multiple facial stimulus were presented to all participants, who were asked to rate between a 1∼5 points, depending on how positive or negative the attitude to the single facial expression stimulus and multiple stimulus. Three-way ANOVA was performed in order to comprehend the differences in the interpretation biases of the single and multiple stimuli between the high social anxiety group and the low social anxiety group. The results of this study were as follows: the high social anxiety group showed the negative interpretation biases in the negative and neutral emotion type of the multiple facial stimuli. However, no differences in the single stimulus type were observed between the high social anxiety group and the low social anxiety group. In particular, the high social anxiety group showed more negative interpretation biases when there were ambiguous neutral emotional stimuli of facial expression. This means that subjects in the high social anxiety group interpreted the negative facial expression stimulus and the neutral facial expression stimulus more negatively when many facial stimuli were presented, compared to the low social anxiety group. In general, these results imply that the high social anxiety group showed the characteristics of interpretation biases in processing the facial expression emotion stimulus. The implications and limitations of this study, along with suggestions for further research were discussed.
This study verified the hypothesis that evaluative self-organization mode would have a moderation effect in the process influenced by ruminative response style in depression. Ruminative response style, self- organization mode, stress, and depression were measured in 459 undergraduate students. The result showed that self-organization mode has a moderation effect between depression and ruminative response style. This means that, people could lessen their depression when they represent both positive and negative sides in their given situation, even if they ruminate a lot. In addition, the results showed that the interaction effect of ruminative response style, self-organization mode, and stress affected depression differently. Finally, the clinical implications and limitations of the study were discussed.