Scott M. Pickett

Female-perpetrated intimate partner violence and romantic attachment style in a college student sample.

The frequency, severity, and reciprocity of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence and its consequences (i.e., injuries) were investigated in a college sample of women (N = 457). Participants were classified into one of the following four groups on the basis of self-reported physical assault perpetration and victimization against their relationship partners: nonviolent, perpetrator-only, victim-only, and bidirectionally violent. Results showed that females in the bidirectionally violent group had a reportedly higher occurrence (although not always statistically significant) of perpetration and victimization than those in the perpetrator-only and victim-only groups. Additionally, a similar degree of reciprocity was indicated by females in bidirectionally violent relationships in terms of violence severity and the occurrence of injury. Adult romantic attachment style was also examined among a subset of females (N = 328), and bidirectionally violent females were found to have the highest reported levels of attachment anxiety. Further, females high in attachment anxiety and low in attachment avoidance were more likely to report perpetrating violence than females high in both styles. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Relationships Among Depression, Anxiety, and Insomnia Symptoms in Perinatal Women Seeking Mental Health Treatment

BACKGROUND Depression and anxiety symptoms are commonly experienced by women during the perinatal period. Changes in sleep and sleep quality are typical throughout pregnancy and early postpartum. However, little is known about relationships between insomnia symptoms and psychiatric symptoms in perinatal women. The objective of the present study is to characterize the burden of insomnia symptoms in perinatal women seeking outpatient psychiatric treatment and to examine relationships between insomnia and symptoms of depression and anxiety. METHODS Data from 257 pregnant or postpartum women who sought outpatient psychiatric treatment at a university hospital-affiliated clinic were extracted from an existing clinical management database. Data included validated self-report measures assessing insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index [ISI]), mood (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale [EPDS]), and generalized anxiety (Penn State Worry Questionnaire [PSWQ]). RESULTS Fifty-two percent of women reported symptoms of insomnia, 75% reported symptoms of depression, and 61% reported symptoms of generalized anxiety. After controlling for PSWQ, the partial correlation between EPDS and ISI was 0.15 and 0.37 for pregnant and postpartum women, respectively. After controlling for EPDS, the partial correlation between PSWQ and ISI was 0.20 and 0.12 for pregnant and postpartum women, respectively. Women with clinically significant ISI scores had significantly higher odds for reporting symptoms consistent with depression (odds ratio [OR] 7.7) and generalized anxiety (OR 2.55) compared to women with lower ISI scores. CONCLUSIONS Insomnia symptoms affected a significant proportion of the perinatal women in this sample. These symptoms are linked to symptoms of depression and anxiety in treatment-seeking pregnant and postpartum women. Perinatal women seen in psychiatric treatment settings should be routinely screened for sleep problems.

Experiential avoidance as a moderator of the relationship between behavioral inhibition system sensitivity and posttraumatic stress symptoms

Preliminary evidence suggests that high emotional reactivity, in conjunction with maladaptive self-regulatory processes, increases ones vulnerability to develop psychopathology. In the present study, associations between behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity, experiential avoidance (EA) and trauma-related outcomes (i.e., posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS]) were examined in a sample (N=851) of female college students who had experienced at least one traumatic event. Positive associations were observed between BIS sensitivity, EA, and PTSS. In addition, EA moderated the relationship between BIS sensitivity and PTSS, with participants high in BIS sensitivity and high in EA reporting significantly more PTSS than participants high in BIS sensitivity and low in EA. No association was observed between BIS sensitivity and PTSS for participants low in EA. These findings suggest that an unwillingness to experience unwanted private events, in conjunction with increased BIS sensitivity, contributes to PTSS severity. Further, there was a positive association and a negative association found between PTSS and BAS-Drive and BAS-Reward Responsiveness, respectively. A marginally significant EA×BAS-Fun Seeking interaction was also observed. Present findings suggests the importance of pursuing an etiological model of posttraumatic stress disorder in which neurobiological factors (i.e., BIS/BAS sensitivity) and self-regulatory processes (i.e., EA) interact to produce psychopathology.

A model of BIS/BAS sensitivity, emotion regulation difficulties, and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in relation to sleep quality

Recent research has indicated that interactions between behavioral inhibition system (BIS)/behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitivity and emotion regulation (ER) difficulties increases risk for psychopathology. Considering sleep quality (SQ) has been linked to emotion regulation difficulties (ERD) and psychopathology, further investigation of a possible mechanism is needed. The current study examined associations between BIS/BAS sensitivity, ERD, and SQ to depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in an undergraduate sample (n=459). Positive relationships between BIS sensitivity and both ERD and stress symptoms, and negative relationships between BAS-reward sensitivity and both ERD and depression symptoms were observed. Furthermore, ERD were positively related to depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Succeeding analyses revealed differential relationships between ERD and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among good quality and poor quality sleepers. The findings are discussed within the context of personality dimensions and self-regulatory mechanisms, along with implications for the treatment of depression, anxiety and sleep difficulties.

The relationship between subjective sleep disturbance, sleep quality, and emotion regulation difficulties in a sample of college students reporting trauma exposure

Sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality has been associated with trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms; however, the associated emotional consequences of sleep disturbance have not been examined within this context (i.e., emotional reactivity, emotion modulation). The current study examined the relationship between sleep disturbance, poor sleep quality, and emotion regulation difficulties. In a sample of college students reporting exposure to at least 1 traumatic event, online survey methodology was used to assess PTSD symptom severity (PTSS), sleep disturbances, including PTSD-specific sleep disturbances, and emotion regulation difficulties. After controlling for PTSS, sleep disturbance and poor sleep quality domains were related to both global and specific difficulties in emotion regulation domains. The findings suggest that sleep disturbance and emotion regulation difficulties associated with PTSD may not be a mere extension of the clinical picture of PTSD. Sleep disturbances following trauma exposure may contribute to emotion regulation difficulties and exacerbate negative consequences. Future research should examine the effects of treatments that simultaneously address sleep disturbances and PTSD symptoms on emotion regulation processes.

The Impact of Experiential Avoidance on the Inference of Characters’ Emotions: Evidence for an Emotional Processing Bias

Experiential avoidance is a functional class of maladaptive strategies that contribute to the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Although previous research has demonstrated group differences in the interpretation of aversive stimuli, there is limited work on the influence of experiential avoidance during the online processing of emotion. An experimental design was used to investigate the influence of self-reported experiential avoidance during emotion processing by assessing emotion inferences during the comprehension of narratives that imply different emotions. Results suggest that experiential avoidance is partially characterized by an emotional information processing bias. Specifically, individuals reporting higher experiential avoidance scores exhibited a bias towards activating negative emotion inferences, whereas individuals reporting lower experiential avoidance scores exhibited a bias towards activating positive emotion inferences. Minimal emotional inference was observed for the non-bias affective valence. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of experiential avoidance as a cognitive vulnerability for psychopathology.

College Women’s Perceptions of and Inclination to Use Campus Sexual Assault Resources Comparing the Views of Students With and Without Sexual Victimization Histories

The purpose of this study is to explore whether college women’s perceptions of and inclination to use campus sexual assault resources vary as a function of their sexual victimization histories. First, using data from the full sample of female undergraduate students selected from the psychology subject pool (N = 247), we performed t-tests to analyze whether perceptions of sexual assault as a problem on campus, knowledge of and confidence in campus sexual assault resources, and likelihood of attending a university sexual assault self-defense course differed for victims and nonvictims. Victims indicated significantly less confidence in campus resources and significantly less interest in attending the self-defense course than nonvictims. Second, using data from a subsample of participants (n = 57) who reported being unlikely to attend the self-defense course, we performed a qualitative analysis of the open-ended responses. Student-reported reasons for not attending the self-defense course were categorized into instrumental barriers such as time and schedule constraints and perceptual barriers such as belief that the self-defense course was unnecessary, with similar response patterns emerging for victims and nonvictims. The results underscore the need for colleges and universities to improve sexual assault service provision for students, especially women with sexual victimization histories.

Difficulties in emotion regulation as a mediator of the relationship between child sexual abuse victimization and sexual aggression perpetration in male college students

ABSTRACT Although numerous studies document a link between child sexual abuse and later sexual assault perpetration in men, little research has examined why this relationship exists. One potential mechanism may be emotional regulation difficulties. The current study utilizes a college sample of 132 men to examine the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties on the relationship between experiencing child sexual abuse and later sexual aggression. Although emotion regulation difficulties in general was not significantly related to sexual aggression, one facet, impulse control difficulties, emerged as a significant mediator of the relationship between child sexual abuse and sexual aggression. Intervention programs should focus on the care that children receive following sexual abuse, with particular emphasis on how emotion regulation abilities may be impacted.

Emotion Regulation Moderates the Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption and the Perpetration of Sexual Aggression

Sexual assault remains a significant problem on college campuses, and previous research identifies alcohol and emotion regulation as potential contributors to perpetration. Data were collected from 101 male undergraduates, assessing emotion regulation difficulties, sexual aggression perpetration toward women, and alcohol consumption. Results showed that emotion regulation moderated the relationship between alcohol consumption and sexual aggression, such that those with high emotion regulation difficulties were more likely to behave in a sexually aggressive manner. Thus, men with high emotion regulation difficulties may be more likely than those with low difficulties to use alcohol to overcome their inhibitions and perpetrate sexual aggression.

Impulse Control Difficulties and Hostility Toward Women as Predictors of Relationship Violence Perpetration in an Undergraduate Male Sample

Relationship violence in college students continues to be an important social problem. Prior research has identified several risk factors for relationship violence including trauma exposure, impulse control difficulties, and hostility toward women; however, previous research assessing these variables has mainly focused on bivariate relationships, with little work attempting to connect multiple correlates to relationship violence while utilizing a theoretical, interactive approach. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously examine several correlates of relationship violence (i.e., hostility toward women, trauma exposure, and impulse control difficulties), and to examine male perpetration of relationship violence among a sample of male college students using a cross-sectional design. It was hypothesized that among men in this sample, hostility toward women and trauma exposure would moderate the relationship between impulse control difficulties and relationship violence. The findings suggested that college-aged men, who have high impulse control difficulties, high hostility toward women, and who have multiple trauma exposures, may be more likely to perpetrate relationship violence against a female intimate partner than those who are low in impulse control difficulties, report low levels of hostility toward women, or report fewer or no trauma exposures. Thus, the current study suggests that exposure to trauma predisposes men with specific attributes to relationship violence, which may provide a treatment target for future intervention programs.