Leila Guller

A Comparison of Two Models of Urgency Urgency Predicts Both Rash Action and Depression in Youth

The aim of this study was to test two competing theories concerning the trait of urgency: (a) Urgency reflects the tendency to act rashly/impulsively when emotional, or (b) urgency reflects a general reflexive responsivity to emotions that can lead either to rash action or to ill-advised inaction and thus to either impulsive behavior or depression. Following prior findings that fifth-grade urgency predicted sixth-grade impulsive behavior, we tested whether urgency also predicted sixth-grade depression (n = 1,906). After controlling for sex, early pubertal onset, fifth-grade depression, fifth-grade engagement in addictive behaviors, negative affect, positive affect, and other impulsivity-related traits, fifth-grade urgency level did predict higher levels of depression at the end of sixth grade. This finding is consistent with the view that urgency can lead either to rash action or to ill-advised inaction. Urgency may be of transdiagnostic importance, contributing to both internalizing and externalizing dysfunction.

Development and preliminary validation of a behavioral task of negative reinforcement underlying risk-taking and its relation to problem alcohol use in college freshmen.

BACKGROUND A long line of theoretical and empirical evidence implicates negative reinforcement as a process underlying the etiology and maintenance of risky alcohol use behaviors from adolescence through emerging adulthood. However, the bulk of this literature has relied on self-report measures, and there is a notable absence of behavioral modes of assessments of negative reinforcement-based alcohol-related risk-taking. To address this clear gap in the literature, the current study presents the first published data on the reliability and validity of the Maryland Resource for the Behavioral Utilization of the Reinforcement of Negative Stimuli (MRBURNS), which is a modified version of the positive reinforcement-based Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). METHODS Participants included a convenience sample of 116 college freshmen ever regular drinkers (aged 18 to 19) who completed both behavioral tasks; self-report measures of negative reinforcement/avoidance constructs and of positive reinforcement/appetitive constructs to examine convergent validity and discriminant validity, respectively; and self-report measures of alcohol use, problems, and motives to examine criterion validity. RESULTS The MRBURNS evidenced sound experimental properties and reliability across task trials. In support of convergent validity, risk-taking on the MRBURNS correlated significantly with negative urgency, difficulties in emotion regulation, and depressive and anxiety-related symptoms. In support of discriminant validity, performance on the MRBURNS was unrelated to risk-taking on the BART, sensation seeking, and trait impulsivity. Finally, pertaining to criterion validity, risk-taking on the MRBURNS was related to alcohol-related problems but not heavy episodic alcohol use. Notably, risk-taking on the MRBURNS was associated with negative reinforcement-based but not with positive reinforcement-based drinking motives. CONCLUSIONS Data from this initial investigation suggest the utility of the MRBURNS as a behavioral measure of negative reinforcement-based risk-taking that can provide a useful complement to existing self-report measures to improve our understanding of the relationship between avoidant reinforcement processes and risky alcohol use.

Construct validation theory applied to the study of personality dysfunction.

The authors review theory validation and construct validation principles as related to the study of personality dysfunction. Historically, personality disorders have been understood to be syndromes of heterogeneous symptoms. The authors argue that the syndrome approach to description results in diagnoses of unclear meaning and constrained validity. The alternative approach of describing personality dysfunction in terms of homogeneous dimensions of functioning avoids the problems of the syndromal approach and has been shown to provide more valid description and diagnosis. The authors further argue that description based on homogeneous dimensions of personality function/dysfunction is more useful because it provides direct connections to validated treatments.

Longitudinal test of a reciprocal model of smoking expectancies and smoking experience in youth.

This article reports on a longitudinal test of a developmental model of early smoking that specifies reciprocal predictive relationships between smoking expectancies and smoking behavior in youth. The model was tested on 1,906 children during the transition from elementary school to middle school across 3 time points: the spring of 5th grade, the fall of 6th grade, and the spring of 6th grade. Key findings were (a) elementary school expectancies for reinforcement from smoking predicted smoking behavior during middle school; (b) smoking experience predicted increased subsequent smoking expectancies; and (c) among children who had never smoked, smoking expectancies predicted subsequent smoking onset. The finding that smoking expectancies and smoking behavior predicted each other reciprocally and positively across time in children this young may prove important in developing and refining early intervention and prevention efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record

Validation of an existing measure of eating disorder risk for use with early adolescents.

This study tested a brief eating disorder risk measure, originally developed for use with college students, in young adolescents. The measure is called the COEDS (College Eating Disorders Screen) and is constructed of items written in everyday language used by youth to discuss weight issues, rather than in the language of symptom assessment. A sample of 246 early adolescents (mean age, 13) completed questionnaire measures of puberty, eating disorder behavior, and eating disorder risk two times in a 12-month span. We found that: (a) the COEDS was internally consistent; (b) COEDS scores were stable across one year; and (c) COEDS scores predicted restricting and compensatory behavior one year later, above and beyond prediction from sex, race, prior restricting and compensatory behavior, and prior BMI. The COEDS appears to be a reliable and valid measure for risk assessment in youth; it may prove useful for researchers and clinicians interested in screening for risk and as a means to test whether prevention efforts have reduced risk.

Dimensions of Personality and Neuropsychological Function in Eating Disorders, Substance Use Disorders, and Addictions

Substance abuse, eating disorders, and other addictive behavior problems tend to be comorbid with personality disorders and with dimensions of personality pathology. Substance abuse and pathological gambling tend to be highly comorbid with antisocial personality disorder, whereas eating disorders are often comorbid with both Cluster B and Cluster C personality disorders. These comorbidities can increase symptom severity and compromise treatment. Negative emotionality, negative urgency, and sensation seeking correlate with most forms of addictive behavior, although anorexia nervosa appears quite different and is associated with lower levels of novelty seeking and high levels of self-directedness and perfectionism. Well-developed neurobiological models of brain system functioning and neurotransmitter plasticity paint a picture of how the initially impulsive engagement in addictive behaviors can become compulsive over time. Behavioral and pharmacological treatment strategies emphasize renewed engagement in nondrug pleasurable activities, and new treatments are being developed that target the specific personality pathology of the patient.

The Nervous System and Addictions: Essentials for Clinicians

Understanding neurobiology forms a strong foundation for investigating addictive behavior. Brain structure is briefly discussed, including major cortical and subcortical structures, white matter pathways, other vital systems, and cellular components. The mesocorticolimbic system and dopamine are discussed in light of psychoactive substances. Mesocorticolimbic changes have been documented in the transition from recreational substance use to chronic dependence, reflecting a change from the basic positive reinforcement of initial use to the development of a negative reinforcement paradigm due to the avoidance of negative withdrawal consequences. Anticipation and craving reflect persistent changes in the mesolimbic system attributable to substance dependence. Not only do mesolimbic systemic operations alter in the presence of substances, but responses to substances within the structures themselves also appear to change. These principles are applied to the practical understanding of pathological compulsive behaviors, including gambling and hoarding, and the chapter then closes with a brief discussion of the societal value of insight into the neurological effects of substances.Abstract Understanding neurobiology forms a strong foundation for investigating addictive behavior. Brain structure is briefly discussed, including major cortical and subcortical structures, white matter pathways, other vital systems, and cellular components. The mesocorticolimbic system and dopamine are discussed in light of psychoactive substances. Mesocorticolimbic changes have been documented in the transition from recreational substance use to chronic dependence, reflecting a change from the basic positive reinforcement of initial use to the development of a negative reinforcement paradigm due to the avoidance of negative withdrawal consequences. Anticipation and craving reflect persistent changes in the mesolimbic system attributable to substance dependence. Not only do mesolimbic systemic operations alter in the presence of substances, but responses to substances within the structures themselves also appear to change. These principles are applied to the practical understanding of pathological compulsive behaviors, including gambling and hoarding, and the chapter then closes with a brief discussion of the societal value of insight into the neurological effects of substances.