Psychology (Functional Area: Clinical Psychology)

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Open Access
Exploring The Associations Between Trait Boredom And Cannabis Use Habits
(2025-04-10) Kronstein, Naama Beatrice; Keough, Matthew
Context: Excessive cannabis may lead to significant related problems in a small proportion of those who use. There is growing support for positive associations between trait boredom and both cannabis use and related harms. State Boredom is the aversive experience of wishing but being incapable of participating in fulfilling activity. Trait boredom is the frequency of experiencing state boredom. Recent literature suggests that trait boredom reflects a chronic lack of agency rather than being a component of sensation seeking. Theories of addiction suggest that people who experience aversive affect frequently (i.e., trait boredom as a lack of agency) tend to use for coping motives (i.e., reduce negative affect), and those who are high on sensation seeking tend to use for expansion motives (i.e., heighten mental experience). Hypotheses: I expected trait boredom to positively predict cannabis use and related harms and that these associations would be explained by coping motives. Furthermore, I expected sensation seeking to predict cannabis use and related harms and that these associations would be explained by expansion motives. Exploratory gender specific moderation effects were examined. Methods: Data were collected in a single wave on MTurk. 489 North American participant who had used cannabis in the past month were included. Participants were asked about their motivation to use cannabis, problems related to cannabis-use, sensation seeking, and their cannabis use disorder related symptoms. Results: I observed high collinearity between the cannabis motives (suggesting they were not unique), and the sensation seeking measure had a large portion of missing responses. Therefore, I was unable to examine initially planned mediation models. Instead, simple linear regressions were performed to examine how trait boredom related to cannabis outcomes. In line with the hypothesis, trait boredom was positively associated with cannabis problems and cannabis use disorder symptoms. Moderation analysis showed that men’s CUD-related symptoms were positively affected by boredom but not women’s. Significance: This study found associations between trait boredom as a lack of agency and cannabis outcomes. Future research should investigate the mechanisms of these associations and expand on our understanding of trait boredom in the etiology of excessive cannabis use and harms.
Open Access
Intimate Partners' Awareness of and Responses to Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviours in People with Borderline Personality Disorders: A Mixed-Methods Descriptive Study
(2025-04-10) Tissera, Talia Maria; Fitzpatrick, Skye
Intimate relationship dysfunction is characteristic of borderline personality disorder (BPD), and partners’ behaviours may exacerbate or ameliorate self-injury in BPD. Therefore, this study investigated partners’ awareness of people with BPD’s self-injury, how they find out about self-injury, their responses to self-injury, and their self-evaluated helpfulness. To address these aims, 15 people with BPD and their 15 partners reported on the presence or absence of self-injury for 30 days; partners also reported how they found out about self-injury for 30 days and completed semi-structured interviews about a recent response to self-injury and their self-evaluated helpfulness. Partners were aware of 40% of self-injury, and 66.7% found out about self-injury because people with BPD disclosed it. Qualitatively, most partners responded to self-injury by soothing, protecting, and/or problem solving for people with BPD. Most partners observed mixed or negative reactions to their efforts, and perhaps consequently, some felt lost about how helpful they were.
Open Access
Cancer Recovery Narratives Pre and Peri Covid: A Mixed Methods Comparative Analysis
(2025-04-10) Norton, Lucas Gordon Scott; Fergus, Karen
This study is the first of its kind to compare narratives from cancer survivors collected at the end of treatment both before the COVID-19 pandemic began (2017-2019) and three years following (2023-2024). Data was collected through short narrative care interviews, designed to provide a supportive way for cancer survivors to process the experience of treatment and recovery, and find ways to effectively move forward in life. Preliminary quantitative findings indicate the potential effectiveness and acceptability of the narrative interview for supporting individuals at the end of cancer treatment, with notable increases in self-reported social well-being. Emergent qualitative thematic differences include frequent reports of medical delays and experiences of loneliness during treatment in the peri-COVID cohort, as well as indications that this group was more inclined to advocate for their healthcare needs, express skepticism toward the medical system, and speak more positively about interpersonal support from loved ones than the pre-COVID cohort.
Open Access
Perceived Norms about Coping-Motivated Drinking Mediate the Relations Between Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use and Related Problems
(2025-04-10) Newman, Jessica Esther; Keough, Matt
Social anxiety has been shown to be a risk factor for alcohol-related problems among emerging adults. Perceived norms may be a relevant cognitive factor underlying this risk; however, previous literature has focused mostly on broad norms about alcohol use in general and not on norms about specific alcohol use behaviours. The main goal of this study was to examine the mediating role of perceived approval about drinking to cope specifically, in the pathway from social anxiety to alcohol use and related problems. I hypothesized that university students with heightened social anxiety would perceive their friends (in particular) as being approving of drinking to cope with negative affect, which would lead to an increase in alcohol problems. Participants were ages 18 to 29 from six Canadian universities and completed an online cross- sectional survey measuring social anxiety levels, perceived approval of specific risky drinking behaviours, alcohol use frequency, and alcohol-related problems. Mediation analyses showed that elevated social anxiety predicted greater perceptions of friends approving of drinking to cope, which in turn, predicted elevated alcohol-related problems. This mediation effect was not seen when analyzing perceived approval from typical students, highlighting a specificity for friends increasing perceived approval of coping-related drinking behaviours. Perceived approval of sexual risk taking from friends was associated with lower alcohol-related problems, and perceived approval of heavy drinking from typical students was associated with increased alcohol outcomes. This study is the first to examine the impact of perceived approval of specific risky drinking behaviours on alcohol outcomes among students with relatively elevated social anxiety. Such research could contribute to improving the efficacy of personalized normative feedback interventions for modifying normative perceptions and alcohol outcomes.
Open Access
Examining social networks, social support, and relationship quality as protective factors for neurocognitive health in individuals who are homeless or precariously housed
(2024-11-07) Li-Chay-Chung, Audrey Clara; Wardell, Jeffrey
Social connectedness contributes to cognitive reserve (CR) in the context of aging, but its role in predicting neurocognitive functioning in adults who are unstably housed is unknown. This study examined cross-sectional associations between dimensions of social connectedness and domains of neurocognitive functioning in a sample of adults experiencing homelessness or precarious housing. HIV infection, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and psychotic disorder were analyzed as moderating clinical risk factors. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that available social network size significantly predicted verbal memory performance. HIV moderated the association between relationship conflict and verbal memory, and the association between social network size and cognitive flexibility. Neither social support nor relationship conflict predicted neurocognitive functioning. Neither TBI nor psychotic disorder moderated any associations. The present findings elucidate the role of social connectedness in contributing to CR in this marginalized population and provide support for social-oriented interventions to preserve their neurocognitive health.
Open Access
The Experience Of Brain Power During A Continuous Performance Task: Exploring The Influence Of Task- And Person-Based Factors
(2024-11-07) Wagner, Danika Marie Miner; Eastwood, John
The experience of brain power is a crucial element of collective flourishing and the regulation of cognition. However, essential questions regarding its mechanisms remain poorly understood, particularly concerning how person- and task-based factors influence the experience. This study explored how the experience of brain power during a continuous performance task (CPT) is associated with person-based (i.e., ADHD symptoms) and task-based (i.e., manipulations in interstimulus intervals (ISI)) factors. Participants reported the presence of ADHD symptoms and then were randomly assigned to one of three CPT ISI conditions (1000, 3000, or 6000 ms). Two-thirds of the way through the CPT, participants rated their experience of brain power. Both person- and task-based factors influenced the experience of brain power on two psychometrically distinct facets of the experience (task-elicited and volitionally exerted). Both factors interact to influence CPT performance. Implications of the findings and future directions are discussed.
Open Access
The Relationship Between Gaming Behaviours, Emotional Vulnerability, And Coping During The Covid-19 Pandemic
(2024-11-07) Lewinson, Rebecca Elizabeth; Katz, Joel
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant changes in the way people interacted, functioned, and coped with life stressors (Restubog et al., 2020; Rettie & Daniels, 2021). With government guidelines, uncertainty, and isolation, individuals sought new coping methods, including video games (Entertainment Software Association, 2020; King et al., 2020; López-Cabarcos et al., 2020). This coping strategy may have been particularly prevalent among individuals with emotional vulnerabilities (i.e., symptoms of depression and anxiety), or personality traits such as anxiety sensitivity or hopelessness. As such, there is a need to better understand how emotional vulnerability relates to coping-motivated gaming during the pandemic. This dissertation presents two longitudinal studies exploring emotional vulnerability, gaming behaviours, and coping motivations for gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first study involved 332 Canadian gamers (Mage= 33.79, SDage=8.92; 60.8% male, 39.2% female) and examined the influence of emotional vulnerability on coping-motivated gaming and gaming-related problems during the first six months of the pandemic (April – October 2020). The results supported the hypotheses, that higher levels of emotional vulnerability predicted excessive time spent gaming and gaming-related problems, with coping motives playing a mediating role. The second study, conducted between July 2021 and January 2022, involved 1001 American gamers (Mage= 38.43, SDage= 12.11; 46.8% male, 53.2% female) and aimed to understand how internalizing personality traits, namely anxiety sensitivity and hopelessness influenced video gaming engagement. There was an observed predictive relationship between anxiety sensitivity and subsequent time spent gaming, through coping motives. Overall, these studies provide valuable insights into emotional vulnerability, gaming behaviours, and coping motives during the pandemic. They emphasize the importance of coping motives in these relationships and offer an opportunity to explore how symptoms of depression or anxiety and related personality traits, may influence the use of gaming during the pandemic.
Open Access
Understanding Decisions to Engage in Public Health Measures (PHMs) during COVID-19
(2024-10-28) Halilova, Julia Gyulnara; Rosenbaum, Shayna
Widespread compliance with public health measures (PHMs) has been critical to containing the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other infectious diseases. Vaccination, mask-wearing, handwashing, and physical distancing have been among most recommended PHMs for mitigating the impacts of the pandemic. To facilitate development of public health policies and campaigns to encourage compliance with PHMs, it is necessary to gain insight into factors contributing to decisions to engage in the PHMs. The four studies presented in this dissertation are focused on investigating contributions of well-established cognitive biases, delay discounting and intolerance of uncertainty, to individual’s compliance with PHMs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 7,000 participants from 13 countries were recruited for an online survey between June and August 2021. Participants completed measures of delay discounting, intolerance of uncertainty, demographics, distress level, and PHM compliance. After controlling for demographic and distress variables, delay discounting (tendency to prefer smaller immediate rewards over larger later rewards) was a negative predictor of vaccination, but a positive predictor of physical distancing and handwashing. The participants were invited to complete a follow-up study between July and August 2022 and respond to questions about engagement in protective behaviors, including vaccination status and willingness to receive a booster dose. In the sub-sample of participants who reported receiving at least one main dose of the vaccine (n=2,547), a greater tendency to discount future rewards was associated with reduced willingness to receive a booster dose, after controlling for demographic and distress variables. In the sub-sample of participants who reported no intention to get vaccinated in 2021 (n=251), an age x intolerance of uncertainty interaction predicted the likelihood of change in vaccination status a year later. Younger participants were more likely to change their mind about vaccination compared to older participants, especially if they were high on intolerance of uncertainty. The results of the four studies advance our understanding of health-related decision-making, offering insights into vaccine hesitancy, compliance with PHMs, and the cognitive processes associated with these choices during a pandemic. The implications extend to theoretical models, public health strategies, and interventions aimed at promoting widespread engagement in PHMs.
Open Access
Conceptualizing and Measuring Trait Boredom as a Lack of Agency
(2024-10-28) Gorelik, Dana; Eastwood, John D.
Trait boredom suffers from conceptual ambiguity, including a lack of agreed upon definition and theoretical understanding. Existing measures of trait boredom have been shown to lack validity and possess psychometric limitations. The present dissertation sought to address these concerns by proposing and evaluating a theory of trait boredom and validating a new assessment tool. Chapter 1 reviews the literature on trait boredom including its causes, self-report measures, and limitations of its literature. Chapter 2 defines trait boredom as the frequent experience of state boredom resulting from a psychological cause and conceptualizes these psychological causes in terms of ‘agency’. Chapter 3 partitions the variance in TBS scores into state, trait, and error components to assess the stability and thus validity of the scale. It also evaluates the TBS by examining its associations with measures of theoretically related constructs. Results confirmed a six-item unidimensional scale with strong psychometric properties, including adequate internal consistency (ω = .89), interindividual stability (69.04% of variance accounted by a trait factor), and expected associations with related measures. Chapter 4 evaluates the definition of trait boredom by examining how well measures of psychological causes of boredom predict state boredom characteristics. It also assesses the predictive validity of the TBS by examining its associations with state boredom. Results showed that measures of psychological causes generally predicted state boredom characteristics. Given the finding that boredom intensity and distress were separate from boredom frequency and pervasiveness, I propose that trait boredom should be defined by both the quality of boredom experience (i.e., its intensity and distress) and its frequency. The TBS predicted all state boredom characteristics (rs range from .18 to .26). The TBS was associated with almost all psychological causes of boredom as expected; large associations were with volitional causes. It was also associated with maladaptive and ineffectual responses to boredom. Findings demonstrated that the TBS captures my theory of trait boredom as a lack of agency. Chapter 5 summarizes key findings and proposes directions for future research. The present work provides a useful theory of trait boredom and further validity for a strong new measure of trait boredom.
Open Access
Examining Daily Associations Between Cannabis Use and Alcohol Use Among People Who Use Cannabis for Both Medicinal and Nonmedicinal Reasons: Substitution or Complementarity?
(2024-10-28) Coelho, Sophie; Wardell, Jeffrey
People who use cannabis for medicinal reasons tend to report elevated cannabis use and reduced alcohol use, which may reflect a cannabis–alcohol substitution effect. However, it is currently unclear whether cannabis is used as a substitute for or complement to alcohol at the day level among individuals who use cannabis for both medicinal and nonmedicinal reasons. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine day-level cannabis-alcohol associations linked to day-level variation in medicinal (versus nonmedicinal) reasons for cannabis use. People reporting cannabis use for both medicinal and nonmedicinal reasons (N=66) completed daily surveys assessing previous-day reasons for cannabis use, cannabis consumption, and alcohol consumption. Multilevel models revealed that days during which cannabis was used for medicinal (versus exclusively nonmedicinal) reasons were associated with reduced consumption of both cannabis and alcohol, and alcohol use was increased on days involving greater cannabis consumption. Further, the day-level association between medicinal (versus exclusively nonmedicinal) reasons for cannabis use and lower alcohol consumption was mediated by fewer grams of cannabis used on those days. Results suggest that day-level cannabis-alcohol associations may be complementary rather than substitutive among people who use cannabis for both medicinal and nonmedicinal reasons, and reduced (rather than increased) cannabis use may explain the link between medicinal reasons for cannabis use and reduced alcohol use. These individuals may still be at risk for cannabis-alcohol co-use-related harms, especially on days when they use cannabis for nonmedicinal reasons.
Open Access
A Lonely Time to Live: Assessing the Severity and Chronicity of Loneliness in Emerging Adults
(2024-10-28) Rose, Alison Lesley; Goldberg, Joel
Severe and chronic forms of loneliness are thought to contribute to declines in both mental and physical health. Although the impacts of loneliness are well-established, little is known about the extent to which more severe and chronic forms of loneliness impede on individuals’ functioning and well-being. This oversight is in large part due to the lack of an adequate measure that more fully assesses the severity and chronicity of loneliness. By extension, little is understood about the extent to which severe and chronic forms of loneliness affect emerging adults in general and in challenging times (e.g., during the pandemic). Considering these observations, three multi-method studies were conducted to address this gap in the literature. Study One is a qualitative study conducted during the height of the COVID-19 public health crisis which found that both internal (personal) and external (social and situational) mental health concerns emerged as themes related to the perception and experience of loneliness (N = 37). Study Two (N = 289) and Study Three (N = 371) both involved collecting data from two self-report online surveys during ensuing stages of the pandemic to test the psychometric properties of a newly developed scale (the Severe Enduring Loneliness Factors Questionnaire; SELF) and the extent to which it is predictive of risk and resilience indicators above existing loneliness scales with samples exclusively composed of emerging adults. Overall, findings suggest that it is useful to view and use the measure as two separate subscales that individually evaluate the severity and chronicity of loneliness. As well, the majority of regression analyses showed that both factors of the SELF were either individually or simultaneously predictive, although not uniquely predictive, of the majority of outcomes such as higher levels of depression and shame and lower levels of mattering to others. Notably, an enduring sense of loneliness was uniquely predictive of lower levels of total hope. Study Two compared participants identifying no chronic loneliness (N = 29) with those reporting chronic loneliness to a high degree (N = 84), as well as Study Three (no chronic loneliness, N = 33; high chronic loneliness, N = 125). Both studies found significant, consistent group differences in psychological strengths and vulnerabilities between those reporting an absence versus a heightened level of chronic loneliness. Findings from the present series of studies suggest that the SELF questionnaire shows promise not just in terms of demonstrating sound psychometric properties but also with respect to providing a more comprehensive understanding of the kinds of loneliness that are characterized as more extreme and persistent. The implications of these findings and recommendations for further advancements pertaining to the research and clinical applications of this work are outlined and discussed.
Open Access
Subjective and objective spatial memory and navigation abilities in aging and amnesia
(2024-03-16) Pishdadian, Sara; Rosenbaum, R. Shayna
Compared to the extensive research on how older adults evaluate their memory abilities, the evaluation of subjective spatial navigation abilities is understudied. This dissertation was guided by four research objectives: 1) Investigate the psychometric properties of a subjective spatial navigation questionnaire to assess the nature and extent of self-reported changes to spatial navigation in neurotypical aging; 2) Determine the relationship among subjective assessments of spatial navigation and of memory and how they relate to psychological distress and objective memory performance; 3) Understand the impact of hippocampal damage on subjective awareness of areas of spared and impaired episodic and spatial memory; and 4) Identify more precisely the conditions in which spatial memory and navigation depend on hippocampal integrity. In study 1, multidimensional item response theory was used to evaluate the factor structure and item reliability of the novel Changes in Navigation Questionnaire (CNQ) in a community sample of older adults. Results showed that the CNQ has a reliable factor structure, with items falling under typical and atypical changes. In study 2, the relationship between subjective spatial navigation and metamemory in aging was investigated using structural equation modeling. Findings showed that the subjective spatial navigation and metamemory constructs had a positive, weak correlation. Objective episodic memory performance did not load onto metamemory, and allocentric spatial memory performance had a weak loading onto spatial navigation abilities. Psychological distress symptoms had stronger loadings on metamemory than spatial navigation abilities. In study 3, two individuals with hippocampal amnesia completed questionnaires assessing metamemory and spatial navigation abilities and were compared to age-, gender-, and education-matched controls. The individuals with amnesia reported sound awareness of metamemory and spatial navigation difficulties. Lastly, in study 4, these individuals’ performance on a videogame wayfinding measure was compared with that of thousands of well-matched controls. The individuals showed distinct patterns of impairment and preservation on the tasks. These dissertation results show that subjective spatial navigation abilities can be reliably captured with questionnaires, are weakly related to metamemory, and that accurate self-evaluation is not contingent on intact episodic memory. The findings also highlight specific aspects of navigation that are hippocampal dependent.
Open Access
Development and Application of the Narration-Emotion Process Coding System (NEPCS-CBT): Exploratory Analyses of Therapist and Client Narrative-Emotion Markers in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder Psychotherapy Sessions
(2023-12-08) Khattra, Jasmine; Angus, Lynne
The narrative-informed, dialectical-constructivist model (Angus & Greenberg, 2011) suggests that narrative contextualization of emotional experiences in which affect, actions, and thoughts are organized as a told story, enables new self-reflection, emotional awareness, and meaning-making for sustained change in psychotherapy sessions. The Narrative-Emotion Process Coding System Version 2.0 (NEPCS; Angus et al., 2017) is a standardized tool that consists of 10 client markers that capture clients’ mode of storytelling, emotional processing, and reflective meaning making, in therapy sessions in addition to a ‘No Client marker’ dominated by therapist-talk. These 10 client markers are classified into three subgroups: Problem (Same Old, Empty, Unstoried Emotion, and Superficial Storytelling), Transition (Reflective, Inchoate, Experiential, and Competing Plotlines Storytelling), and Change Markers (Unexpected Outcome, and Discovery Storytelling). The NEPCS 2.0 (Angus et al., 2017) was applied to a small Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) sample (N = 6; 36 therapy sessions; drawn from Westra et al., 2016) in a pilot study (Khattra et al., 2018). Pilot study (Khattra et al., 2018) findings indicated that therapists contributed up to 45% (‘No Client marker’) of all coded minutes in CBT sessions. The exploration of therapist interventions in ‘No Client markers’ was highlighted as a future direction given therapists’ extensive role in guiding session process in CBT treatment for GAD. Additionally, it was noted that nuances of client narrative-emotion processes during CBT session tasks may have been missed and coded homogenously as the ‘Superficial Storytelling’ marker (22.4% of coded session time; second most frequently occurring marker). The present study aimed to address these limitations and future directions, and had two primary goals: 1) The development of the NEPCS-CBT manual, based on NEPCS 2.0 (Angus et al., 2017), including the differentiation of ‘No Client marker’ category into discrete therapist marker interventions, and refinement of client markers with CBT-task criteria; and 2) Application of the NEPCS-CBT manual to a larger CBT for GAD sample (N = 10; 60 therapy sessions; drawn from Westra et al., 2016). Multilevel mixed-effects models demonstrated significantly higher proportions of Client (C)-Problem markers subgroup (specifically, C-Same Old Storytelling marker), and lower proportions of the C-Transition markers subgroup (specifically, C-Reflective Storytelling marker) for unchanged clients (vs. recovered clients) overall, and at the early, middle, and late stages of therapy. Recovered clients narrated significantly higher proportions of the C-Competing Plotlines Storytelling marker overall, and at the late therapy stages, and the C-Unexpected Outcome Storytelling marker at the middle and late therapy stages. Therapists of unchanged clients engaged in significantly higher proportions of the Therapist (T)-Transition marker subgroup at the late therapy stage, and specifically, higher proportions of the T-Competing Plotlines marker (‘Therapist challenges client’s maladaptive patterns’) overall, and at the middle and late therapy stages. Findings are discussed in the context of previous NEPCS research findings, and current CBT and GAD research literature focusing on client ambivalence for change and interpersonal resistance. Clinical implications and the value of the development of the NEPCS-CBT manual are also discussed.
Open Access
The Ontogenetic Course and Multicomponent Nature of Wise Reasoning Across the Adult Lifespan: Perspectives From Neuropsychology
(2023-12-08) Darboh, Bri Susanna; Turner, Gary
Wisdom has long been revered as a desirable feature of aging in theoretical, folk, and lay discourse. In recent decades, there has been a surge of empirical psychological research on the association between wisdom and age, including the underlying cognitive mechanisms that may contribute to its expression. However, this remains an ongoing area of debate, with diverse and often conflicting views reported in the research literature. Further, less is known about how the cognitive architecture of wisdom may differ in younger and older adults. The current work aimed to empirically examine whether ‘older is wiser’, and the cognitive and neural substrates associated with wise reasoning in younger and older adulthood. We begin with a systematic review and meta-analyses to quantify the current consensus in the literature regarding the relationship between general (insight into life in general) and personal (insight into oneself) wisdom with (i) cognition (Study 1) and (ii) age (Study 2). Study 1 included 22 studies for which outcomes were categorized into six cognitive domains to facilitate domain-specific meta-analyses: i) crystallized intelligence, ii) fluid intelligence, iii) general intellectual functioning, iv) memory, v) attention, and vi) executive function. We observed a significant positive effect of crystallized and fluid intelligence on wisdom, with the most robust effects observed for crystallized intelligence. Aggregate effect sizes in the remaining cognitive domains were null. Study 2 included 52 studies to examine the relationship between wisdom and age. There was a significant positive effect of age on wisdom, with larger effects observed for general versus personal wisdom. Extending from these systematic reviews we next conducted two empirical studies. First, we examined associations among wisdom, age, and specific aspects of cognitive function implicated in wise reasoning (leveraging findings from Studies 1 and 2) in 344 neurologically healthy younger (n = 181) and older (n = 163) adults (Study 3). While older adults scored higher on measures of self-reported personal wisdom, performance-based general wisdom was stable across the adult lifespan. Memory was a stronger predictor of general than personal wisdom in the combined, young, and older adult samples, and this association was more robust in older adults. Finally, in an exploratory analysis (Study 4), we examined relationships among wisdom, memory, and brain function (resting-state functional connectivity) in 286 neurologically healthy younger (n = 157) and older (n = 129) adults. General wisdom was associated with greater integration among frontoparietal (CONT) and default (DN) subnetworks than personal wisdom in the combined age sample. General wisdom in older adulthood was associated with more robust network dedifferentiation than in young, while the opposite pattern was observed for personal wisdom (i.e., greater within-network connectivity of CONT and DN regions in older than younger adulthood). Taken together, these findings illustrate that older may be wiser, and critically depends on the problem-solving context (intra-personal versus extra-personal). Moreover, our findings provide converging evidence that personal and general wisdom are discrete abilities, with distinct age-related trajectories, cognitive determinants, and underlying neural architectures.
Open Access
Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma Exposure Across the Lifespan on Social Cognitive Functioning and Amygdala Volume in a Sample of Precariously Housed Adults
(2023-12-08) Mashhadi, Farzaneh; Gicas, Kristina
Precariously housed individuals are exposed to a multitude of adverse factors, which significantly increase their vulnerability to negative outcomes. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of adverse childhood experience (ACEs) and lifespan trauma exposure on social cognitive functioning, including affective decision-making and theory of mind (ToM) abilities in a sample of precariously housed adults. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the association between ACEs and lifespan trauma on the amygdala volume. The results revealed that a greater number of traumatic exposures throughout the lifespan were associated with enhanced affective decision-making and ToM abilities. However, it was found that ACEs did not significantly impact social cognitive performances. Furthermore, no significant relationships were observed between ACEs, lifespan trauma, and the volume of the amygdala. These findings shed light on the existence of inherent resilience factors within adverse experiences that can potentially mitigate negative outcomes.
Open Access
A Self-Guided E-Learning Program Improves Metamemory Outcomes in Healthy Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
(2023-12-08) Yusupov, Iris; Rich, Jill Bee
The majority of older adults will experience normal age-related memory changes. Memory programs offer a promising solution to mitigate decline and promote brain health. Memory programs have evolved over time, progressing from single mnemonic techniques to the combination of mnemonics, then to multicomponent programs offering participants a more holistic approach to enhancing their memory and brain health. A large body of literature demonstrates that in-person memory interventions can increase knowledge, support the acquisition of memory strategies, improve metamemory outcomes, and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors among participants. With the advancement of technology and the goal of attaining scalable and accessible solutions, researchers and clinicians are developing online memory programs. Our team developed a self-guided, e-learning program based on the well-validated, in-person Memory and Aging Program®. The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate efficacy of the e-learning program compared to a waitlisted control group through a randomized controlled trial. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT03602768). As part of a larger, multi-arm, controlled trial, 115 healthy older adults (ages 60-84, 71% female) were randomized into an intervention or a delayed-start control condition. Team members involved in data collection were masked to participant grouping. Outcome measures were completed by telephone interviews (assessing memory knowledge) and online questionnaires (assessing metamemory and health-promoting lifestyle behaviors) at three time points (pre-program, post-program, and 6- to 8-week follow-up). Reasons for attrition were explored with a brief feedback survey. Improvements over time in memory knowledge, the acquisition of memory strategies and their use in daily life, and memory satisfaction and ability were larger in the group that completed the intervention than the control group. There was no interaction effect for health-promoting lifestyle changes. Attrition was 43%, and the most common participant-reported reasons for attrition included a breakdown in communication, personal circumstances, dissatisfaction with the e-learning program, and technical/instructional issues. Overall, this self-guided, e-learning memory program may be an effective, accessible, flexible, and potentially cost-effective intervention that has the potential to achieve similar metamemory outcomes as the original in-person version in participants that complete the program. This research identified opportunities to design e-learning interventions to better support healthy lifestyle changes and potentially improve participant retention. Findings are discussed in relation to evidence-based practice in psychology.
Open Access
Therapists in training: Brief interventions to ease negative self-evaluations and improve affective well-being
(2023-12-08) Chafe, David Thomas; Mongrain, Myriam
Clinical and counselling psychology trainees take on many different roles throughout the course of their graduate training, including intensive course loads, research, and clinical training. Previous research has identified significant distress and psychological symptoms reported by graduate students in clinical training. Also documented are complex barriers to receiving help for their mental health concerns. The aim of the current study was to better understand the experiences of graduate therapist trainees by tracking them over time to investigate the psychological difficulties they experience, and to examine the efficacy of brief online exercises designed to combat self-criticism and induce self-compassion. 254 clinical and counselling psychology trainees were recruited from 50 graduate programs across Canada and the United States. Participants completed baseline measures assessing self-compassion, self-criticism, positive, negative, and compassionate affect, depression, anxiety, dysfunctional attitudes, fear of negative evaluation, stress, and professional self-doubt. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, a “working with self-criticism” condition, a “loving kindness meditation” condition, or a waitlist control condition. Following the baseline measures, trainees completed the online interventions for eight weeks, then completed measures at post-test and a one-month follow-up. Results indicated that the therapist trainees experienced moderate to severe levels of distress on most psychological outcome measures at baseline. However, it was found that the two active conditions were effective in reducing self-criticism and fear of negative evaluation, while increasing compassionate affect compared to the control condition. The results support the value of self-care and reflective practices among clinical and counselling trainees. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.
Open Access
Using Thin Slicing to Detect Client Resistance in Psychotherapy
(2023-12-08) Shekarak Ghashghaei, Nazanin; MacDonald, Suzanne
The present study developed and examined the merits of a “thin slice” (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1992) approach for the detection of client resistance in psychotherapy. Thin slice clips presenting resistance (n = 20) and non-resistance (n = 20) were derived from previously resistance-coded sessions (Aviram et al., 2016) of 20 therapist-client dyads from a larger RCT (Westra et al., 2016). Seventeen untrained raters rated the clips in randomized order. Untrained raters’ (1) thin slice ratings on 90-s of client behaviour significantly differentiated resistance from non-resistance, (2) thin slice ratings on resistance strongly predicted expert coder-ratings of resistance for the 1-hr session, and (3) thin slice ratings on resistance moderately predicted client working alliance ratings for the 1-hr session. Key observable client behaviours of “annoyance”, “anger”, and “frustration” were also identified as correlates of resistance. This study demonstrates the utility of “thin slicing” as a novel and efficient approach to resistance-detection.
Open Access
The Slim-Thick Ideal: Its Impact on Women's Body Image and Eating, Exercise, and Body Modification Behaviours
(2023-12-08) Mccomb, Sarah Elizabeth; Mills, Jennifer S.
Past research has widely focused on the impact of idealized images of unrealistically thin or fit women, referred to as the thin- and fit-ideal, on young women’s body image. Recently, a more curvaceous take on the thin-ideal, called the slim-thick-ideal, characterized by a small waist and flat stomach, but large hips, butt, and breasts has gained popularity in mainstream media. Despite an increase in the popularity of this ideal, little is known about the impact of the slim-thick-ideal on women’s body image and which women aspire to this ideal. As such, in three studies I sought to investigate who was likely to aspire to the slim-thick-ideal, and its impact on women’s body image. Study 1 sought to investigate the comparative impact of the slim-thick-ideal on women’s body image, relative to the thin- and fit-ideal, and if physical appearance perfectionism moderated these findings. It was found that exposure to all three body ideals resulted in increased weight and appearance dissatisfaction and lower overall body satisfaction, which was most pronounced for those who saw the slim-thick-ideal, and among those high on physical appearance perfectionism. Study 2 sought to replicate the findings of Study 1, to investigate which body ideal was most preferred among young women, and which personality and behavioural traits were characteristic of women who aspired to each ideal. Study 1 findings were replicated. The slim-thick-ideal was rated as the most attractive and desirable of the three ideals. Those who aspired to the slim-thick-ideal reported greater disordered eating, dietary restraint, physical appearance perfectionism, and body modification behaviours than those who aspired to the thin- or fit-ideal. Study 3 investigated if there was an association between preferred ideal and ethnicity and eating, purging, exercise, and body modification behaviours. Women of colour preferred the slim-thick-ideal most; White women endorsed each ideal in equal proportions. For the most part, there was no association between preferred body ideal and eating, purging, exercise or body modification behaviours, indicating that those who aspire to the slim-thick-ideal are engaging in the same harmful behaviours as those who aspire to the thin- and fit-ideal. Clinical implications are discussed.
Open Access
Therapist Emotional Reactivity and Performance Following a Motivational Interviewing Workshop With and Without Deliberate Practice
(2023-12-08) Poulin, Lauren Elizabeth; Westra, Henny
Some individuals are more reactive to emotional stimuli than others, and this is particularly relevant to psychotherapists due to their frequent interaction with emotionally evocative material. Therapist reactivity can be particularly triggered during challenging clinical moments such as resistance, leading to negative therapy process which can be detrimental to client outcome. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a therapeutic approach that specifically focuses on exploring ambivalence about change and minimizing resistance in psychotherapy, and therefore is a beneficial strategy to address many challenging interpersonal moments in psychotherapy. Therapists would benefit from training in MI to specifically address these challenging clinical moments, and this may be especially important for therapists who are highly emotionally reactive. Deliberate Practice (DP) has shown promise as a training approach that may result in greater maintenance of skill, and therefore may be explored as a more impactful and long-lasting way to train therapists in MI. The present study involved both traditional and DP training in the context of a continuing education workshop. The impact of training type on therapist reactivity to challenging clinical moments was examined immediately following training, and four months later. The relationship between therapist reactivity, performance, and type of training was also investigated. Eighty-eight community therapists participated in training to use MI principles to effectively manage client ambivalence and resistance. Therapists were randomly assigned to receive a 2-day training workshop based on DP principles, or to receive a 2-day traditional didactic workshop. Self-reported arousal to video vignettes of difficult scenarios was collected prior to the workshop, immediately following the workshop, and 4 months later, and therapists participated in 20-minute interviews with ambivalent volunteers at both post-workshop and follow-up. Therapist dynamic Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (dynamic RSA) was measured during these interviews as a psychophysiological measure of emotional reactivity, and interviews were coded for resistance to measure therapist performance. Results demonstrated a decrease in self-reported arousal only for those who engaged in DP training, though this was not maintained at follow-up. There was a difference in dynamic RSA between groups at post-treatment, where the DP group uniquely demonstrated quadratic change, indicating the training had a differing effect. Despite this differing trajectory, RSA showed an overall increase at both post-workshop and follow-up in both groups. This suggests that regardless of training type, therapists were regulating their emotions and possibly having a compassionate response, rather than a stress response, to these interviews. Dynamic RSA between workshop groups was unable to be assessed at follow-up due to a smaller sample size for psychophysiological assessment. In the investigation of the impact of training on performance, greater self-reported arousal was found to predict less resistance in interviews, but there was no relationship observed between psychophysiological arousal and resistance. This study supports the efficacy of DP training in reducing therapist arousal to difficult clinical scenarios, and the importance of continued DP in order to maintain one’s skills. Clinical and training implications are discussed.