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Background Individuals with child maltreatment (CM) experiences are more often disliked, rejected and victimized compared to individuals without such experiences. However, contributing factors for negative evaluations are so far unknown.... more
Background Individuals with child maltreatment (CM) experiences are more often disliked, rejected and victimized compared to individuals without such experiences. However, contributing factors for negative evaluations are so far unknown. Objective The purpose of this preregistered study, based on previous research on adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD), was to test whether negative evaluations of adults with CM experiences, in comparison to unexposed controls, are mediated by more negative and less positive facial affect display. Additionally, we explored whether level of depression, severity of CM, social anxiety, social support, and rejection sensitivity have an influence on ratings. Methods 40 adults with CM experiences (CM+) and 40 non-maltreated (CM-) adults were filmed for measurement of affect display and rated in likeability, trustworthiness, and cooperativeness by 100 independent raters after zero-acquaintance (no interaction). Results Unexpectedly, the CM + a...
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The role of working memory and complex executive function in assessment of risk for mathematical learning difficulties in children with special educational needs
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The role of Working Memory, complex Executive Function and Metacognitive Strategy Training in Assessment and Intervention for Children with Special Educational Needs
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The current study investigated the effects of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) based training on mathematical and logical skills. A sample of 21 Swedish high school students attending first grade and second grade were assigned to either... more
The current study investigated the effects of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) based training on mathematical and logical skills. A sample of 21 Swedish high school students attending first grade and second grade were assigned to either training (n= 10) or no-training conditions (n= 11). Measures of performance on mathematical tests, Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), and relational responding tasks were taken prior to and after training. For 8-10 weeks, the experimental group trained using SMART, an online multiple exemplar training program for enhancing relational skills. No significant differences between the groups were found on mathematical performance. A significant increase on SPM performance was observed for the experimental group. The findings are in line with previous research on RFT, suggesting that behaviorally based interventions can enhance intellectual performance. Population characteristics, SMART training procedures, strengths and methodological limitations a...
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Abstract Research suggests that child abuse and neglect may be one of the determining factors in the development of psychopathology because it disrupts the formation of emotional attachment to other people, which leads to emotion... more
Abstract Research suggests that child abuse and neglect may be one of the determining factors in the development of psychopathology because it disrupts the formation of emotional attachment to other people, which leads to emotion dysregulation and alexithymia.This study examined the indirect effect of different types of abuse and neglect on psychopathology through emotion dysregulation accounted by for alexithymia. Sample consisted of 133 college students and staff from United World College Red Cross Nordic. Participants were recruited online via email. A moderated mediation analysis showed a significant conditional indirect effect of childhood emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect on psychopathology through emotion dysregulation, with the emotion dysregulation-psychopathology association being increased in magnitude as a function of increased levels of alexithymia. The findings point to the significance of simultaneously investigating emotion dysregulation as a mediator and alexithymia as a moderator within the framework of the association between childhood abuse/neglect and psychopathology in future research. Moreover, these results may serve as an aid in tailoring a transdiagnostic psychotherapeutic treatment that covers alexithymia and emotion regulation difficulties for individuals who show symptoms of comorbid psychopathology with a history of abuse and neglect in childhood.
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Preferential processing favouring threatening information has received increased attention because cognitive formulations have placed increased emphasis on its role as a key cognitive factor underlying vulnerability to and maintenance of... more
Preferential processing favouring threatening information has received increased attention because cognitive formulations have placed increased emphasis on its role as a key cognitive factor underlying vulnerability to and maintenance of anxiety disorders. The present dissertation comprises four empirical studies within the area of preferential processing. Two different outcome measures were used to index preferential processing of threat-related information: Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were used in Studies I, II, and III. The emotional Stroop task was used in Study IV. The main focus has been on preferential processing of threat-related information that occurs outside awareness, thus preferential preattentive processing. Study I investigated the role of traumatic combat experience with regard to preferential processing among UN soldiers following a presentation of threat-related pictures. Results indicated that soldiers with combat experience consistently reacted with lower SCRs compared to soldiers without combat experience. One issue addressed in the individual studies was the association between preferential preattentive processing and trait anxiety. Studies II, III, and IV showed that elevated levels of trait anxiety promote preferential preattentive processing of negatively valenced information, whereas elevated levels of social desirability generally prevent preferential preattentive processing of negatively valenced information. Study II highlighted the importance of including the social desirability factor when studying effects of trait anxiety on preferential processing. In addition, Studies III and IV explored the relationship between preferential processing and emotional vulnerability. The main findings support the notion of preferential preattentive processing of threat representing an underlying predisposition to heightened emotional vulnerability in response to stressful events.
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Treatment goals are considered a vital part of therapeutic work, and their role is often emphasized in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). However, the attainment of goals is rarely accounted for in terms of treatment outcome. In this... more
Treatment goals are considered a vital part of therapeutic work, and their role is often emphasized in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). However, the attainment of goals is rarely accounted for in terms of treatment outcome. In this study, we set out to investigate a structured format for goal assessment and goal attainment in CBT delivered as routine care. We were especially interested in the sensitivity to change in perceived goal attainment. Patients completed a self-administered version of the Bern Inventory of Treatment Goals (BIT-C) and rated their perceived attainment on a maximum of five prioritized goals before and after 12 weeks of treatment, along with measures on anxiety, depression and health-related quality of life. The results indicated that the prioritized goals only partially correspond to disorder-specific concerns, and that perceived proximity to treatment goals is clearly associated with improvements following treatment. The results are discussed in terms of t...
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Information-processing and emotional responses to stress: An investigation using self-report and physiological measures of stress
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Psychiatric disorders are common, and reliable measures are crucial for research and clinical practice. A cross-diagnostic construct that can be used to index treatment outcomes as well as prevalence of psychological ill health is... more
Psychiatric disorders are common, and reliable measures are crucial for research and clinical practice. A cross-diagnostic construct that can be used to index treatment outcomes as well as prevalence of psychological ill health is psychological flexibility. The aim of this study was to validate a Swedish version of the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI). The MPFI has 12 subscales, six of which measure flexibility, and six that measure inflexibility. Using confirmatory factor analysis in a community sample of 670 participants, we found that a model with 12 factors had the best fit to the data. All 12 subscales showed adequate reliability and the factor structure was similar across age groups and gender. Findings suggest that the Swedish version of the MPFI is a reliable instrument that can be used to index psychological flexibility.
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Underlying patterns and factors behind suicides of patients in treatment are still unclear and there is a pressing need for more studies to address this knowledge gap. We analysed 278 cases of suicide reported to The Norwegian System of... more
Underlying patterns and factors behind suicides of patients in treatment are still unclear and there is a pressing need for more studies to address this knowledge gap. We analysed 278 cases of suicide reported to The Norwegian System of Patient Injury Compensation, drawing on anonymised data, i.e., age group, gender, diagnostic category, type of treatment provided, inpatient vs. outpatient status, type of treatment facility, and expert assessments of medical errors. The data originated from compensation claim forms, expert assessments, and medical records. Chi-square tests for independence, multinominal logistic regression, and Bayes factors for independence were used to analyse whether the age group, gender, diagnostic category, inpatient/outpatient status, type of institution, and type of treatment received by patients that had died by suicide were associated with different types of medical errors. Patients who received medication tended to be proportionally more exposed to an ins...
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This study focused on the factor structure of the victimization form of the revised Controlling Behaviors Scale (CBS-R). Data from 1,218 women and men were analyzed in the study. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) failed to... more
This study focused on the factor structure of the victimization form of the revised Controlling Behaviors Scale (CBS-R). Data from 1,218 women and men were analyzed in the study. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) failed to find support for the proposed five-factor structure of the scale, as the items on the scale were better represented by one common factor. In addition, when examining if controlling behaviors are distinct from psychological aggression, the CFA indicated that the items on the CBS-R are clearly distinguishable from the items on the psychological aggression (as measured with the subscales of the revised Conflict Tactic Scales [CTS2]), and that this holds for both males and females. Implications for the general use of the CBS-R and for use in conjunction with psychological aggression and physical aggression in intimate partner violence were discussed.
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Intrusive emotional memories were induced by aversive auditory stimuli and modulated with cognitive tasks performed post-encoding (i.e., during consolidation). A between-subjects design was used with four conditions; three... more
Intrusive emotional memories were induced by aversive auditory stimuli and modulated with cognitive tasks performed post-encoding (i.e., during consolidation). A between-subjects design was used with four conditions; three consolidation-interference tasks (a visuospatial and two verbal interference tasks) and a no-task control condition. Forty-one participants listened to a soundtrack depicting traumatic scenes (e.g., police brutality, torture and rape). Immediately after listening to the soundtrack, the subjects completed a randomly assigned task for 10 min. Intrusions from the soundtrack were reported in a diary during the following seven-day period. In line with a modality-specific approach to intrusion modulation, auditory intrusions were reduced by verbal tasks compared to both a no-task and a visuospatial interference task.. The study did not control for individual differences in imagery ability which may be a feature in intrusion development. The results provide an increased ...
Research Interests: Psychology, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Cognition, Attention, and 14 morePrediction, Stress, Autonomic Nervous System, Problem Solving, Prospective studies, Humans, Galvanic Skin Response, Female, Male, Young Adult, Clinical Sciences, Questionnaires, Empirical evidence, and Predictive value of tests
The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of trait anxiety and social desirability on skin conductance responses (SCRs) following exposure to masked and unmasked pictures in a non-clinical sample. The most prominent results... more
The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of trait anxiety and social desirability on skin conductance responses (SCRs) following exposure to masked and unmasked pictures in a non-clinical sample. The most prominent results were found with regard to masked pictures (i.e. subliminal). Higher levels of social desirability were associated with a decrease in SCRs to masked threat pictures (relative to neutral), whereas elevated levels of trait anxiety were associated with an increase in SCRs. This latter effect, however, was mainly seen among participants who simultaneously scored low on social desirability. These results were discussed in terms of trait anxiety (combined with lower social desirability scores) being associated with (i) enhanced autonomic responses to threatening information most evident at a pre-attentive level, that (ii) may potentially be a vulnerability marker for anxiety disturbances.
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Preferential preattentive processing towards threat has been proposed to play a casual role in the development of anxiety, mainly because it reliably predicts emotional responding to stressful events. However, in the investigation of the... more
Preferential preattentive processing towards threat has been proposed to play a casual role in the development of anxiety, mainly because it reliably predicts emotional responding to stressful events. However, in the investigation of the predictive value of preferential preattentive processing towards threat, the emotional Stroop task has exclusively being used. This study was designed to prospectively investigate the predictive value of skin conductance reactivity in response to masked (i.e., preattentively perceived) threatening pictures on emotional responding following stressful life events. To collect skin conductance data, the picture perception task was administered to 136 police recruits due to enroll into active duty within 2-4 months. To assess psychological distress following emotionally stressful life events, the impact of event scale were administered approximately 24 months later. Controlling for trait anxiety, analyses indicated that enhanced skin conductance reactivity in response to masked threatening pictures (relative to neutrals) was a strong predictor of emotional responding to stressful life events. This finding support preferential preattentive processing towards threat as a relatively independent factor predictive of emotional responding.
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ABSTRACT We describe a series of experiments in which we used subliminal stimulation with "Mommy and I are one" (MIO), and end the chapter with comments on whether our data demand change in psychoanalytic theory or... more
ABSTRACT We describe a series of experiments in which we used subliminal stimulation with "Mommy and I are one" (MIO), and end the chapter with comments on whether our data demand change in psychoanalytic theory or confirm that things are the way we once thought they are. The working assumption is that MIO stimulation activates an unconscious associative network (AN) for the self-with-mother relationship, that is, a relational AN. Results support the inference that subliminal MIO stimulation affects behavior because it activates individually different unconscious ANs of an affective-cognitive nature. Implicit mood was affected in several experiments, and there were effects on a modified Stroop task, an attachment false memory task, and a story task. In most cases these effects were related to an individual difference variable: level of identification with mother. We defined this variable as degree of similarity between conscious and cognitive representations of mother and self. In conclusion, we note a considerable amount of evidence indicating that the effects of unconscious activation of a self-with-mother AN are largely similar in men and women. However, some evidence relates MIO effects to participant gender, and sepeculation about experimenter gender can be entertained also. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT Formulating treatment goals has been shown to be an area of vital concern for both outcome and treatment processes. However, it is not as yet an area of structured routine assessment, either in clinical practice or in research.... more
ABSTRACT Formulating treatment goals has been shown to be an area of vital concern for both outcome and treatment processes. However, it is not as yet an area of structured routine assessment, either in clinical practice or in research. One possible explanation for this is the lack of validated and readily available goal assessment procedures. The present study investigated the test-retest stability of a Swedish translation of the checklist version of the Bern Inventory of Treatment Goals (BIT-C) among 30 patients in primary care. We calculated the consistency of the endorsement of the different therapeutic goal categories over a 2-week period prior to treatment. There were no changes in symptoms or quality-of-life-related measures between the two assessment points. Overall, the goal category items in BIT-C were found to demonstrate moderate to substantial reliability. In conclusion, even though our study was small, it provided initial psychometric support for the Swedish version of BIT-C as a clinically useful tool for the assessment of treatment goals.
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Therapeutic goals are considered a vital component in psychological treatments, but to date relatively little attention has been paid to the assessment and evaluation of these goals. In order to validate of a self-rating version of the... more
Therapeutic goals are considered a vital component in psychological treatments, but to date relatively little attention has been paid to the assessment and evaluation of these goals. In order to validate of a self-rating version of the Bern Inventory of Therapeutic goals checklist (BIT-C), the present study investigated if goals, measured this way, can differentiate between patients (n= 147) and healthy controls (n= 106). Results suggested that BIT-C was successful in discriminating between client and non-clients. Most importantly, clients had a higher tendency to endorse goal categories related to depressive symptoms, substance abuse, coping with somatic problems and current relationships, but a lower tendency to endorse goal categories relating to eating behaviors compared to non-patients. Further, patients perceived attainment of prioritized goals as more distant than non-patients did. The results were discussed in terms of BIT-C being a measure that can be readily applied to ide...