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Iris M Engelhard

Publications and source records attributed to Iris M Engelhard.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

Does future-oriented imagery rescripting increase willingness to carry out a social anxiety-related behavioral experiment? An extended replication.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mental images of threat are common in social anxiety disorder and could impede exposure to fear-relevant situations. Landkroon et al. (2022) found that imagery rescripting of anticipated future threat, compared to no-task, increases willingness of non-clinical individuals to conduct a social anxiety-related behavioral experiment. The aim of this two-day preregistered extended replication study was to examine whether the effects persist beyond the intervention session by scheduling the behavioral experiment 1-7 days after the intervention. METHODS: On Day 1, 60 pre-screened participants were asked to design a behavioral experiment to test an idiosyncratic negative belief about a feared social situation. They were then randomly assigned to imagery rescripting (focused on their worst feared outcome of the behavioral experiment) or no-task. Participants' willingness to do the behavioral experiment and their threat beliefs was measured. On Day 2, they were asked to carry out the behavioral experiment. RESULTS: The imagery rescripting group, compared to the control group, did not show increased willingness or compliance to do the behavioral experiment on Day 1 or 2. Furthermore, the imagery rescripting did not lead to greater reductions in threat beliefs on either day. LIMITATIONS: The quality of the imagery rescripting intervention was not assessed, and given the brief nature of the intervention, any effects may have dissipated before participants decided whether to carry out the behavioral experiment. CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence that imagery rescripting leads to changes in willingness or compliance to do a fear-relevant behavioral experiment. More research is needed to examine interventions that can enhance exposure in socially anxious people.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

The fallacy of ex-consequentia reasoning and the persistence of PTSD.

Many individuals experience psychological distress after a potentially traumatic event, but only a minority develops chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the cognitive model of Ehlers and Clark (Behaviour Research and Therapy 38 (2000) 319), chronic PTSD results from distorted beliefs about the trauma or its sequelae. Given the availability of disconfirming information, why do such distorted beliefs persist? A recent promising line of research focuses on the "ex-consequentia" reasoning fallacy: "if I feel anxiety, there must be danger". Ex-consequentia reasoning may start a vicious circle in which subjective fear responses are used to erroneously validate thoughts of impending doom, which intensifies distress, etc. In other words, false alarms are not recognized and irrational beliefs are maintained. We previously found that other anxiety patients (Behaviour Research and Therapy 33 (1995) 917) and PTSD patients (Behaviour Research and Therapy 39 (2001) 1139) show ex-consequentia reasoning, that is, they appear to believe that anxiety symptoms imply the presence of danger. Interestingly, this was not restricted to situations relevant to the individual's anxiety disorder. Tentative data suggest that ex-consequentia reasoning is causally involved in the persistence of PTSD and anxiety disorders. These are presented and possible underlying mechanisms are discussed.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed2003

Peritraumatic dissociation and posttraumatic stress after pregnancy loss: a prospective study.

This study examined (1). predictors for peritraumatic dissociation, (2). its relations with acute and chronic symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and (3). pathways regarding these relations in response to pregnancy loss. In early pregnancy, about 1370 women volunteers completed questionnaires for neuroticism, control over emotions, dissociative tendencies, absorption, and prior life events. Of these, 126 subsequently experienced pregnancy loss and most of them completed measures 1 month (N = 118) and 4 months (N = 104) later. At 1 month, peritraumatic dissociation, memory of pregnancy loss (degree of fragmentation, sensory impressions, and emotional intensity), thought suppression, and PTSD symptoms were assessed, and at 4 months, PTSD symptoms were re-assessed. Peritraumatic dissociation was predicted by prior low control over emotions, dissociative tendencies, and lower education. It was not predicted by neuroticism, absorption, and prior life events. Peritraumatic dissociation was related to acute PTSD symptoms and LISREL analyses indicated that self-reported memory fragmentation and thought suppression of pregnancy loss mediated this relation. It also predicted chronic PTSD symptoms, and this relation was mediated by acute PTSD symptoms.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed2003

The sense of coherence in early pregnancy and crisis support and posttraumatic stress after pregnancy loss: a prospective study.

A. Antonovsky (1987) defined the sense of coherence (SOC) as the ability to perceive a stressor as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful. In this prospective study of pregnant women, the authors tested the relationships between the SOC in early pregnancy and crisis support and symptom severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after pregnancy loss. A total of 1,372 women completed questionnaires in early pregnancy, including measures for the SOC and depressive symptoms, and were followed for every 2 months thereafter until 1 month after the birth due-date. Of this group, 126 women had a pregnancy loss, and 118 of them completed measures for crisis support, PTSD, and depression about 1 month later. The results showed that a stronger SOC in early pregnancy renders women somewhat resilient to symptoms of PTSD and depression after pregnancy loss, which appears to be due to the mobilization of crisis support.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed2003

The Guilty Knowledge Test and the modified Stroop task in detection of deception: an exploratory study.

The current study tested whether a simple Stroop paradigm can be used to detect deceptive behavior. 40 university students (34 women), half of whom committed a mock crime, were administered a Guilty Knowledge Test and modified Stroop task to detect guilt or innocence. The Guilty Knowledge Test is a well-known psychophysiological detection method, which consists of multiple-choice questions about details of the crime while skin conductance is recorded. Subjects possessing guilty knowledge are expected to show enhanced differential responses to the relevant stimuli. The modified Stroop task required color-naming of colored words related to the mock crime or an irrelevant crime. Each version of the Stroop task was presented in story form. Subjects possessing guilty knowledge were expected to produce larger reaction times to the relevant version relative to the irrelevant version. The test correctly identified 100% of innocent participants and 78% of guilty participants. In contrast, Stroop interference. i.e., reaction times for irrelevant crime details subtracted from those for mock crime details, did not differentiate between the two groups, suggesting that the story form of the Stroop paradigm is not suitable for lie detection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A longitudinal study of "intrusion-based reasoning" and posttraumatic stress disorder after exposure to a train disaster.

Previously, we found that chronic PTSD relates to "intrusion-based reasoning" (IR), i.e. the tendency to interpret distressing intrusions themselves as evidence that danger is impending, regardless of objective danger information (Engelhard et al., Behav. Res. Ther. 39 (2001) 1139). This study was intended to elucidate the causal status of this relation. Twenty-nine residents of a Belgian town witnessed a train crash and were assessed for IR and PTSD symptoms within 1 month and were re-assessed for PTSD at 3.5 months. Fourteen control residents did not witness the crash and were also tested for IR. The IR paradigm involved rating the danger of brief scenarios in which objective danger and presence of intrusions about the crash were systematically varied. The directly exposed residents showed greater danger ratings to scenarios in which intrusions were included than did the controls. IR was strongly related to both acute and chronic PTSD symptoms. It did not significantly predict chronic PTSD symptoms after controlling for acute symptoms, although the partial correlation (r=0.26, p=0.09) was in the expected direction. The data suggest that IR is involved in the onset and maintenance of PTSD symptoms, but more clarity about causality awaits future larger and experimental studies.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neuroticism and low educational level predict the risk of posttraumatic stress disorder in women after miscarriage or stillbirth.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether neuroticism and educational level predict posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women following an unsuccessful pregnancy. METHOD: Via advertisements, pregnant women with a gestational period shorter than 12 weeks were asked to participate in a study regarding their perception of pregnancy. After they had agreed, they were sent questionnaires, including a scale for neuroticism and their highest attained educational level. Every other month during the pregnancy and 1 month after the expected date of birth, they were sent brief questionnaires about the pregnancy. Participants for whom the pregnancy had ended unsuccessfully were contacted by phone and asked to participate in a follow-up study with a PTSD scale. RESULTS: Of the 1339 women studied, 126 (9%) experienced an unsuccessful pregnancy; 8 of these dropped out of the study (response rate, 94%); 1 had not indicated her educational level. The remaining 117 women filled out the PTSD scale after about 1 month. Thirty-one women (26%) met the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD and 86 women did not. Logistic regression analysis revealed that PTSD was significantly associated with higher neuroticism, lower educational level and longer duration of gestation. CONCLUSION: For patients with a high educational level and low neuroticism score, the risk of developing PTSD was negligible, while for those with a low educational level and a high score for neuroticism, the estimated risk was about 70%. Care and guidance should focus primarily on the latter group.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Posttraumatic stress disorder after pre-eclampsia: an exploratory study.

Information about the psychological sequelae of pre-eclampsia (PE) is scarce. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may develop after exposure to a stress condition. This study explored whether PE predisposes to PTSD in patients and their partners. Primiparas with a recent history of preterm PE (n=18), preterm birth (PT; n=29), term PE (n=23), or uneventful term birth (C; n=43), and most of their partners completed questionnaires measuring PTSD, depression and related psychological factors. About one-fourth of patients developed PTSD after preterm PE as well as after PT. It occurred in 17% after term PE and in none of the control subjects. A substantial minority of partners was also affected. PTSD symptoms were strongly related to individual psychological characteristics (peritraumatic dissociation, negative interpretations of symptoms, and thought suppression) rather than to objective indicators of condition-severity. The data suggest that PE predisposes to PTSD, primarily but not exclusively resulting from concomitant preterm birth.

Adult↗