MPA 2022

*Presentations authored/co-authored by student mentees.

Depression and Anxiety (Internalizing)
Disorders & Affectivity 

*Church, E., Tytler, C., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). The Propensity to Experience Negative Events on Peak Negative Affect. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. A wealth of evidence suggests that the prevalence and risk for depression in adolescents residing in disrupted homes is significantly higher than adolescents who do not experience similar environmental circumstances. Externally, these aversive childhood experiences may present as lower levels of family cohesion and more negative parenting behaviors. These external factors have been linked to depressive symptoms i.e., lower levels of hedonic emotion or positive affect (PA), and higher levels of anhedonia or negative affect (NA). However, much of the literature that connects environmental influences and depressive symptoms relies on self-report measures, which are known to be influenced by mechanisms akin to social desirability, as well as respondents' limited self-knowledge. Efforts to avoid self-report biases and gather objective information may be strengthened by the inclusion of experience sampling methodologies such as Electronically Activated Recording (EAR), as well as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). Therefore, it is unknown whether the aforementioned associations will hold when gathered via naturalistic observation. Employing a robust naturalistic sampling methodology, the present study sought to assess the moderating role of adolescent's perception of their caregivers' parenting behaviors when predicting negative affect by one's propensity to experience either a negative or positive interaction within respective environments.
• Methods. A sample of 32 adolescents (40% Female, 54% Black American, Mage=14.69, SD=1.69), age completed the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire to assess adolescents' perceptions of parenting behaviors. Participants completed a robust naturalistic sampling methodology (EAR), which audio recorded their environment for thirty-second intervals every five minutes, as well as an 8-day EMA measurement period. EMA responses were defined by the EAR behavioral observations in that they were ascertained for the hour prior to EMA observation, to account for affect within moments of peak distress.
• Results. In testing our hypotheses, multi-level modeling was employed to account for nesting within the data and revealed that the propensity to experience a more positive interaction negatively predicted peak distress (b=-2.75, p<0.001). Similarly, and as expected, parenting marked by poor supervision positively predicted negative affect (b=.27, p<0.001). Individuals' perception of parenting did not reveal any moderating effects.
• Conclusion. Consistent with previous literature, our results support the notion that the perception of negative parenting practices may accompany increased distress in adolescence. In pairing this with the propensity to experience a negative interaction within one's environment, our findings illustrate the positive relationship between negative environmental interactions and negative affect ascertained via experience sampling. Clinical implications will be discussed.

*Hirsch, G., Tytler, C., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Social Anxiety Disorder features moderate pandemic-related life quality changes. Paper  presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. The Coronavirus pandemic markedly disrupted usual daily life patterns before a vaccine was first made available in December 2020. Such disruptions have been linked to increasing prevalence rates of emotional problems and general distress within the US population. Paradoxically, re-engaging with out-of-the-home activities during the pre-vaccination phase of the pandemic was linked with distress, as breaking quarantine conferred an increased risk for coronavirus exposure. While it is understood that the pandemic was as a transdiagnostic risk factor, it remains unclear what effects leaving home during the pandemic had on the quality of life (QOL) of those with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) features, for whom leaving the whom confers pandemic-related stress and that of social evaluation. This study tests the moderation of SAD on change in QOL across the pre- to post-vaccine availability pandemic phases as a function of the average time spent out of the home before a vaccine was available.
• Methods. Twenty-nine adults (M=33.03, SD=11.37, 83% female) completed questionnaires and a 7-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) measurement period that immediately followed survey data collection across two waves (pre-vaccine Wave 1: 9/2000 – 12/2000; post-vaccine Wave 2: 12/2021 -5/2021) that were separated by 4 months on average (M=4.31). SAD symptoms (SIAS) and perceived QOL were collected at both waves, and the average EMAs in which the respondent had left home reflected time spent away from home.
• Results. While QOL levels remained stable on average (M=.20), their association across data collection waves was moderate (r=.40, p=.03), and their change evidenced the anticipated effect. Specifically, independent of sex differences wherein women reported less increase in QOL over time than men (b=-5.32, p=.03), SAD effects on QOL change were significantly moderated by time spent away from home (b=-1.97, p=.009). Specifically, frequently having to leave home during the midst of the pandemic was associated with a reduction in QOL for those with elevated SAD features (b=-35.14) and an elevation for those with low SAD features (b=29.28).
• Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the pandemic may have disproportionately and adversely affected those with elevated Social Anxiety Disorder Features whose life circumstances required them to frequently leave their home. Specifically, socially anxious "essential" workers during the pre-vaccine pandemic phase were likely exposed to stress stemming from risk for coronavirus exposure as well as social interactions. Clinical implications will be discussed.

*Reinhardt, M., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). In vivo Emotion Regulation Mediates Adverse Childhood Sexual Abuse Effects. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL. 

• Problem. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is linked to emotion regulation (ER) difficulties in the form of an over-reliance on ineffective (maladaptive) responses that exacerbate distress and a dearth of those that effectively attenuate it (adaptive). However, most works on the topic have relied on trait ER measures that cannot elucidate how CSA histories influence ER deployment in response to distress as it unfolds naturally within the context of daily life. The current study examined the mediating roles of adaptive and maladaptive ER response deployment between CSA histories and in vivo dysphoria (elevated depressive and low hedonic affects) in response to naturally occurring daily-life stressors.
• Methods. One-hundred sixteen adults (M=27.88-, SD = 11.07; 72% female, 28% with CSA) completed psychosocial interviews during which CSA histories were ascertained participated that was followed by a 7-day Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) protocol during which current and hourly peak depressive (sad, upset) and hedonic (happy, excited) affect ratings were collected 5 times daily, along with the use of adaptive (reappraisal, problem-solving, distraction, and interpersonal help-seeking) and maladaptive (rumination, suppression, throwing/hitting things, and interpersonal conflict) ER responses during peak times of distress between EMAs (N=1,673 observations). Time-varying and -invariant ER tendencies were modeled as warranted.
• Results. As expected, and independent of demographic characteristics, CSA histories predicted an increased propensity to deploy maladaptive relative to adaptive ER responses at peak times of distress (b=.961, p = .006, OR = 2.61). In turn, both time-invariant and time-varying tendencies to deploy maladaptive (relative to adaptive) responses were associated with protracted depressive (btime-invariant=.794, p = .023, OR = 2.21; btime-varying=.164, p = .014, OR = 1.18) and low hedonic affects (btime-varying= -0.208, p = .011, OR = .81). Importantly, montecarlo simulations support the intervening roles of ER in the relationship between CSA and depression in daily life (btime-invariant = .763, 95% CI .221-1.356).
• Conclusion. These results demonstrate the role of maladaptive ER as a daily life mechanism by which abuse histories impact affective states. Consistent with our hypothesis, the results suggest that the relationship between CSA histories and enduring dysphoria after daily upsets is best accounted for by ER deficits. Clinical implications of these findings include the consideration of psychosocial interventions that target
  maladaptive ER tendencies as a means of preventing and treating dysphoria among individuals with CSA histories.

*Stergar, T. & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Internalizing disorder symptom effects Coronavirus safety behaviors and vaccine hesitancy. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. The Coronavirus pandemic has polarized US climate concerning vaccinations (i.e., intent to get vaccinated) and public health-oriented behavior (i.e., social distancing & masking) along geopolitical and racial divides. Indeed, those who identify as being of Black/African American and Latinx backgrounds report greater Coronavirus vaccine hesitancy, along with a lessened intent to engage in social distancing and masking than their Caucasian counterparts. Less is known, however, concerning the roles of depression and anxiety, which prevalences has increased amid the pandemic, in relation to mask wearing, participating in social distancing, and willingness to get the Coronavirus vaccine. Elevated depression and anxiety symptoms have been negative associated with a reduced tendency to socially distance and engage in mask-wearing, though it is feasible worry may increase public health-oriented behavior. However, most studies do not consider race when testing the relationship between behavioral health problems and Coronavirus-related public health-oriented behaviors and vaccine hesitancy. Further, anxiety and depression frequently co-occur, which may make their combined effects more pernicious. This study tested the relationship between race, depression, and anxiety with in-vivo public health-oriented behaviors during the early pandemic phase, and vaccine hesitancy when vaccines first became available.
• Methods. Fifty-six (M=32.82, SD=11.90, 70% female, 70% Caucasian) participants completed measures of depression (CES-D) and anxiety (Penn State Worry Questionnaire) across two data collection waves between which the coronavirus vaccine was first made available (pre-vaccine Wave 1: 9/2000–12/2000;post-vaccine Wave 2: 12/2021-5/2021; M = 4.31 months between waves). A 7-day Ecological  Momentary Assessment (EMA) period following each Wave during which public health-oriented behaviors were assessed. Masking and social-distancing data were drawn from Wave 1 EMA (N=1,674 observations) and vaccination intentions were measured at the 2nd Wave.
• Results. Masking and social-distancing was reported during 32%-34% of EMAs, which use was related to demographic characteristics and a second-order effect of depression and anxiety. African Americans social distanced less frequently (OR=.69, p=.03) and expressed lower intentions to become vaccinated ( OR=.84,p=.05) relative to their Caucasian counterparts. Older participants reported masking less frequently than younger participants (ORs=.95-.96), and women socially distanced more than men ( ORs=1.72-2.39). Importantly, while depression was associated with a reduced probability of social distancing, anxiety symptoms potentiated social distancing behavior at low-to-moderate depression levels. Further, anxiety symptoms predicted an increased willingness to taking the Coronavirus vaccine (ORs=1.11-1.12, ps<05).
• Conclusion. Our findings highlight cultural differences and behavioral health effects on health-oriented behaviors that have public health implications, which will be discussed.

*Stergar, T., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Psychotropic medications differentially influence affective autonomic and subjective reactivity. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. Pharmaceuticals are frontline treatments of internalizing and externalizing disorders that affect physiological processes linked to emotional well-being. In particular, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), anxiolytic, and stimulant medications reduce Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) activity, which levels are associated with effective emotion regulation and a reduced risk for psychopathology. Yet, these medications elevate mood or reduce distress, thereby suggesting a PNS-independent pathway for their effect; the common use of poly-pharmaceuticals further muddies the waters for their therapeutic effects. We test the unique effects of SSRIs, SNRIs, anxiolytic, and stimulant medication on PNS and affective reactivity to sad and happy mood induction procedures via well-validated film clips in an adult sample.
• Methods. Participants were N = 302 adults (27% male, M = 28.03 years old, SD = .44) who completed a baseline free breathing task and responded to validated sad and happy films while ECG data were collected. Thirteen percent (13%) were prescribed SSRIs, 8% SNRIs, 5% stimulants, and 4% anxiolytics. Participants breathed at their resonant frequency while viewing a fixation cross on a screen for 3 minutes during the Free Breathing Task. They then viewed a clip from "The Champ" (sad film) and Wall-E (happy film). Subjective affects were collected after baseline and following each of the film clips via a 10-point Likert scale; change in happiness and sadness indexed affective reactivity to the sad and happy film clip, respectively. Film-related PNS reactivity was indexed via Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), that was derived from the ECG time series variability within the high frequency band (.15-.40Hz).
• Results. SNRI (r = -.27, p < .001) and stimulant use (r =-.15, p = .006) were inversely related with baseline RSA levels. SNRI use was also associated with baseline sadness levels (r =.13, p = .021).Stimulant and SNRI use predicted reduced PNS levels at baseline (indexed via Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia, RSA). Anxiolytic use blunted sadness to the sad film, and RSA withdrawal to the both film clips (bs = .38-.97 ps = .023 -.001). Conversely, SSRI use increased happiness (b=1.16, p = .04) and the RSA withdrawal to the happy film (b = -.28, p = .04).
• Conclusion. Our results indicate the presences of distinct physio-affective response profiles between anxiolytics, SSRIs, and SNRIs that may suggest diverging mechanisms of these drugs' therapeutic effects. Clinical implications will be discussed.

Tytler, C., Church, E., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Familial Transmission of Maladaptive Emotion Regulation. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. The frequent use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (MMR), attenuates negative emotions and has been linked to internalizing and externalizing disorder symptoms in both adolescents and their parents. High levels of negative parenting practices and low levels of positive parenting strategies are also connected to various offspring emotional and behavioral difficulties. Positive parenting practices have been linked to emotional well-being, and inconsistent discipline/poor supervision (negative parenting strategies) to exacerbated psychopathology in adolescents. Parents and their offspring frequently conflict in their perceptions of these parenting practices and growing evidence suggests increased discrepancies to predict negative emotional outcomes. However, there is a dearth of research investigating how discrepancies in perception of parenting practices relate to the transmission of MMR strategies. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the relationship between the familial transmission of MMR from parent to offspring, moderated by child and parent discrepancies in perception of parenting styles.
• Methods. Adult parents (N=47, Mage=43.7, SD=5.53) and their offspring (N=47, Mage=14.5, SD=1.82, 53% female) completed both a measure to assess maladaptive emotional regulation use (Feelings and Me–Maladaptive subscale) and one that assesses perception of parenting style (Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-Short Form; APQ). The APQ considers three forms of parenting styles: positive parenting, inconsistent discipline, and poor supervision; the latter two indicative of negative parenting practices.
• Results. To test the proposed relationship, a moderation model was fit. Consistent with previous literature, parent ratings of maladaptive emotion regulation tendencies significantly predicted offspring's ratings, b=.290, p=.004. Increased discordance between child and parent self-report of positive parenting style was a significant moderator of this relationship, b=.141, p=0.024. Simple slopes analysis revealed that there is a stronger link in the transmission of parent maladaptive emotion regulation and child maladaptive emotion regulation when discordance between positive parenting style was high (b=.573), relative to lower discordance between parent and child self-report (b=-0.102). Discrepancies between child and parent perceptions of negative parenting styles did not produce a significant effect.
• Conclusion. The present results suggest that there is familial transmission for maladaptive emotion regulation tendencies from parents to offspring when the parent and child have high discrepancies in their perceptions of positive parenting practices. Conversely, there is low familial transmission from parents to offspring when these discrepancies are less severe. This pattern of findings suggests the need to consider other measures of maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation and different moderation variables to further understand the familial transmission of emotion regulation.

Substance Use

*Church, E. & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Sentiment Towards Technology-augmented Opioid Use Treatment Predicts Treatment-related Outcomes. In Yaroslavsky (Chair) Treating the Opioid Epidemic: A search for novel treatment targets and approaches. Symposium conducted at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. Opioid abuse prevalence has increased and poses a serious public health problem. Though efficacious for some, many of those with opioid use problems prematurely terminate their treatment due in part to sobriety lapses and a return to former habits. Technology-augmented treatments, such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and intervention, have shown efficacy in increasing treatment retention and outcomes of mood, anxiety, and some substance use disorders. However, it is unknown whether EMA-based interventions are portable for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder. As clients' positive expectations for treatment are a robust prognosticator of outcomes, examining the utility of technology-augmented opioid use treatment may serve as an initial step towards improving treatment outcomes. We examined links between sentiment towards technology-assisted treatment and outpatient clients' compliance with a 42-day EMA protocol that served as the backbone of a novel opioid treatment mobile application and ascertained opioid cravings and sobriety motivations.
• Methods. Outpatient substance use clients (N=25, 78% female), with a primary diagnosis of Opioid Use Disorder, completed a qualitative interview about the role of technology in treatment, an accompanying survey, and a 6-week EMA protocol assessing opioid cravings, sobriety motivation (perceived importance & confidence to remain sober), distress, and sobriety lapses between 4-6 times daily (N=2,581 EMAs). Qualitative interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed, with theme-based sentiment concerning the utility of EMA check-ins quantified via Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), and participants' 7-point Likert scale survey endorsements concerning the utility of daily automated phone check-ins in their sobriety maintenance. Compliance was measured by participants' EMA response rates.
• Results. Treatment compliance was high (M=73%) and did not significantly differ as a function of daily check-in frequency nor sentiment. Thematic analyses revealed positive views concerning the perceived utility of a mobile app to help participants manage their cravings, dysphoric moods, and daily stressors and support their treatment overall. Positive LIWC-based positive sentiment concerning the mobile app's utility for treatment significantly predicted elevated craving levels (γ=.13, p=.04), as did the number of words made in conveying the sentiment (γ=.01, p=.01); parallel self-report responses were unrelated to craving. Neither qualitative or quantitative indices predicted sobriety motivations.
• Conclusion. Technology-augmented treatment appears feasible among outpatient clients with opioid use problems, as evidenced by their positive sentiment towards and compliance with EMA-based check-ins. Further, qualitative methodologies may be more robust than quantitative alternatives when studying sentiment's behavioral correlates. Implications will be discussed.

*Horner, C. & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Dynamism of Craving and Affect in Opioid Use Disorder. In Yaroslavsky (Chair) Treating the Opioid Epidemic: A search for novel treatment targets and approaches. Symposium conducted at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. Over the past few years, opioid use has greatly increased and is projected as one of the highest costing substance use disorder, following alcohol use. Aside from financial strains, individuals who use opioids have a greater propensity for relapse and death by overdose, making the costs of opioid use even greater. Explorations into risk factors for relapse have yielded both positive and negative affect in addition to heightened craving as predictors. Yet, most works on the topic examine contemporaneous associations. Understanding how previous craving and affect levels relate to current states would help to expand upon the work looking at the dynamism of craving and affect in substance use. Additionally, distress and low positive affect are greatly associated with relapse, thus examining these states during heightened times of distress is imperative. The current study aimed to elucidate unique contemporaneous and prospective associations between positive and negative affects and craving levels within individuals with Opioid Use Disorder.
• Methods. Community-dwelling adults, receiving treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (N=33, 69% female), completed a 6-week Ecological Momentary Assessment that assessed positive (PA: happiness, excitement, relaxed, strong) and negative (NA: sadness, anger, frustration, stress) affect as well as opioid craving at the EMA, between successive EMAs, during times of elevated distress and opioid use, randomized 4 to 6 times a day. Multi-level models that nested observations within-day and -person and covaried for sex and time between successive EMA as warranted were employed to test associations of interest, and predictors were partitioned into stable (time-invariant) and EMA occasion-specific (time-varying) components.
• Results. In contemporaneous models, time-varying reduction in PA (γ=-.06, p=.035) and NA elevation (γ=.15, p<.001) predicted craving levels, while increased time-varying NA (γ=-.19, p<.001) and craving (γ=-.12, p=.034) predicted lower PA levels. Interestingly, while time-invariant components were unrelated to craving or PA, both time-varying (γ=.50, p=.046) and -invariant craving levels predicted increased NA (γ=.85, p<.001), as did PA fluctuations (γ=-.49, p<.001). Of the prospective associations, craving and NA evidenced only autoregressive relationships wherein time-varying and invariant components predicted current states (γscraving=.263-1.099, ps<.001; γsNA=.40-1.098, ps<.001). PA evidenced a similar pattern (γsPA=.357-1.068, ps<.001), and was predicted by lagged NA fluctuations (γ=-.046, p<.0001),
• Conclusion. Results suggest that ties between opioid craving and affective states are reflected in time-varying fluctuations of these constructs rather than their average levels. Capturing the dynamism of these fluctuations may be seminal for predicting and preventing opioid use. Clinical implications will be discussed.

*Lancaster, J. & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Coping Motivated Opioid Use Exacerbates Negative Affect's Effect on Cravings. In Yaroslavsky (Chair) Treating the Opioid Epidemic: A search for novel treatment targets and approaches. Symposium conducted at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. With relapse rates for opioid use disorder high, more precise targets for relapse prevention are warranted. As craving is a reliable marker of lapses, its reduction facilitates abstinence duration. Craving is frequently precipitated by negative affect (NA), making elucidation of this pathway paramount. As motives behind opioid use (social, enhancement, coping, and pain) are said to be the final pathway to use, interest has increased about their role in treatment research. Coping motives have emerged as the best predictor of problematic use and cravings, specifically in the presence of NA. With the roles of these constructs still unclear, a recent study identified coping motives to moderate momentary NA and craving in alcoholism (Waddell & Sher, 2021). This study seeks to extend these novel findings to opioid use.
• Methods. Sixty-six adults (Mage = 30.71, SD = 8.99, 41% female) attending mutual help groups for opioid problems (<90 days sober) completed a questionnaire assessing opioid use motives (Opioid Motives Scale; Coping– level 2) and a 7-day EMA protocol. EMA indexed NA and craving levels up to fifteen times each day (level 1), and subject's average NA (level 2).
• Results. A multilevel model was fit to examine same- and cross-level interactions between coping motives and NA on craving while controlling for demographic characteristics. In a random intercept model, coping motives failed to moderate the between-subjects effects of time-invariant NA on craving, b = .22, t(54.72) = 1.00, p = .320. Allowing the intercept and slope of NA to vary, a significant cross-level interaction was found between momentary NA and coping motives in predicting craving, b = .121, t(46.77) = 2.06, p = .045. Examination of the simple slopes revealed coping motives to exacerbate the effects of NA on craving. Specifically, when coping motives were low (-1 SD), the link between NA and craving was weaker and lower, b = 1.34, t = 6.44, p < .001. When coping motives were high (+1 SD), NA and cravings were higher, exhibiting a stronger relationship, b = 1.46, t = 1.49, p = .142.
• Conclusion. These findings indicate that not using opioids to cope weakens the tie between momentary negative affect and craving. Conversely, this suggests that patients who used opioids to cope may be at increased risk of stronger cravings and lapses and may experience more negative emotions. Increased care with a focus on improving coping skills may be warranted for these individuals.

Borderline Personality Disorder

*Horner, C. & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Consistently angered: Borderline personality disorder predicts affective class membership. Paper to be presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. The ability to classify, group, and predict individuals based off of shared characteristics has long been of particular interest, especially with the growth of person-centered approaches. Recent movements have proposed the use of these approaches to ascertain emotional and behavioral outcomes, though little work has examined the role of psychopathology in the prediction of these classifications. Of interest, borderline personality disorder (BPD) may be an ideal disorder to predict emotional outcomes due to the propensity to experience fluctuating emotions. The ability to predict affective patterns based off of psychopathology would help augment therapies targeting emotional distress. Thus, the current study applied person-centered approaches to examine the relationship between BPD features and various affective profiles.
• Methods. A mixed sample of undergraduates and community-dwelling adults (N=480, 63% female, Mage =28.86, SD=11.99) completed measures of BPD features (Personality Assessment Inventory – Borderline Subscale; McLean Screening Instrument for BPD) and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression), and completed a 7-day Ecological Momentary Assessment schedule with 5 prompts per day. EMA assessed basic dysphoric (sadness, nervousness, anger) and hedonic (happiness) affects at each prompt and during the peak time of distress in the preceding hour.
• Results. Latent class analyses of EMA responses supported a 4-class solution: a Normative class reflecting low dysphoric and increasing hedonic affects (Nobs=8,613), an Internalizing problems class characterized by elevated (but declining) sad and nervous affects (N obs=1,097), a Dysphoric class marked by elevated and enduring sadness and nervousness levels, and with increasing anger similar to borderline symptoms (Nobs=358), and a malaise class nervousness levels, and with increasing anger similar to borderline symptoms (Nobs=358), and a malaise class reflecting moderate dysphoria and happiness (Nobs=1,919). Independent of demographic characteristics and relative to the Normative class, BPD features predicted an increased probability of membership within the other three (bs=.563-.831, ps<.001, ORs=1.76-2.30). Importantly, BPD features remained significantly linked with the Dysphoric class membership (b=.251, OR=1.28), but not other classes, when the effects of depression were covaried.
• Conclusion. Results substantiate the use of person-centered approaches to distinguish affective profiles, as well as the subsequent use of psychopathology as a predictor of these underscored profiles. Interestingly, BPD predicted three affective classes, though only significantly predicted one class, marked by heightened anger, when depression was introduced. This may suggest that disorders cross-cut affective profiles, though further work is imperative in understanding the context in which disorders are solely responsible for specific classes. Clinical implications will be discussed.

*Navarre, K., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Borderline personality disorder moderates externally-implemented emotion regulation effects. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by a heightened sensitivity to real or perceived interpersonal slights and marked by dysphoria in response to interpersonal stressors. Several studies have examined forgiveness as a conflict resolution strategy to regulate the self and facilitate emotion regulation (ER) among others. However, research on forgiveness as an externally implemented ER response and BPD is lacking, though a small body suggests a negative association between BPD and forgiveness. Thus, it remains unclear whether BPD features influence the ER effects of interpersonal forgiveness requests, nor whether participants' response to the request modifies the above-noted association. Therefore, the present study examined the role of BPD features and forgiveness as an externally-implemented ER response to interpersonal exclusion and interpersonal aggression tasks.
• Methods. Fifty-three participants (74% female; Mage =21.23, SD=5.59) completed a measure of BPD features (Personality Assessment Inventory–Borderline Subscale), an experimental protocol wherein participants were made to believe that they would play a collaborative (Cyberball Task) and a competitive game (Competitive Reaction Time Task [CRT]) with players at other universities. Both tasks were used to
  induce anger and were followed by an externally-implemented interpersonal ER (IER) task wherein one of the "players" (a confederate) apologized to the participant through Skype messenger, to which participants' responses were recorded and processed. Participants' momentary anger ratings were collected via a 10-point Likert scale at baseline, following the CRT, a 2-minute post CRT interval, and IER.
• Results. Anger was significantly increased following the CRT (b=3.08, p<.001), an effect not moderated by BPD features. As expected, anger declined in response to IER (b=-2.02, p=.02), though its reduction differed as a function of BPD features (b=.05, p=.01). Specifically, anger declined more rapidly for those with low (b=2.42) as compared to high BPD features (b=1.34). Analyses that tested a three-way interaction between BPD features, participants' response to IER, and IER effects revealed steeper anger reductions for those with low BPD features who responded to the "player" ( b=2.90) relative to those who did not respond or were elevated in BPD features ( bs=1.44-2.16).
• Conclusion. Our findings suggest that externally-implemented IER responses have salubrious effects that may be somewhat blunted for those with elevated BPD features. Importantly, our results suggest that failing to respond to an apology may signal hostility levels that do not vary as a function of BPD features. Clinical implications will be discussed.

Eating Disorders

*Holt, R., Shaver, K., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Interpersonal Stressors and Reassurance Seeking Differentially Linked to Problematic Eating. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. It is well known that stress plays a role in the development of eating disorders. Eating disorder symptoms, such as restricting, binging, and purging, often follow periods of heightened stress in individuals with eating disorders or disordered eating habits. Different categories of stressors (interpersonal and non-interpersonal stressors) may affect these disordered habits differently. A behavior commonly observed in individuals with eating disorders or disordered eating habits is excessive reassurance seeking and can be brought on by stress. This study will examine the relationship between eating disorder symptoms and the two categories of stressors and whether excessive reassurance seeking plays a mediating role in these relationships.
• Procedure. Three hundred-seven college-aged participants (87% female, M = 23.40 years old, SD = 6.16) completed measures of disordered eating (Eating Disorder Inventory Desire to be Thin, Bulimia, and Body Dissatisfaction subscales), excessive reassurance seeking (Depressive Interpersonal Relationships Inventory-Reassurance Seeking subscale), and interpersonal and non-interpersonal negative life event stress (Negative Life Events Questionnaire). Latent variable modeling was used to test whether excessive reassurance seeking disproportionately exacerbates the effects of interpersonal stress on eating disorder symptoms relative to non-interpersonal stress.
• Results. Women reported greater eating disorder symptoms than men (bs = 1.91 - 4.50, ps < .001). Independent of demographic characteristics, interpersonal negative life event stress significantly predicted bulimic tendencies (b = .05, p < .001) and a desire to be thin at a trend level (b = .03, p = .06); non-interpersonal stress levels were unrelated to all eating disorder indices. In contrast to expectation, excessive reassurance seeking was solely and inversely linked to body dissatisfaction levels (b = -.14, p = .02), and did not moderate the effects of either stressor.   
• Conclusions. Our results support the specificity of interpersonal stress as a key risk factor for eating disorder symptoms, rather than stress in general. In a similar vein, the inverse association between reassurance seeking and bulimia may indicate that those with eating disorders are reticent to reach out to others for assistance. If supported independently by other investigators, our findings suggest that interventions targeting interpersonal stress that often presents as interpersonal conflict while increasing interpersonal help-seeking behaviors could robustly reduce eating disorder symptoms among college-aged persons. 

*Shaver, K., Holt., R & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Antecedent- and Response-Focused Emotional Regulation's Role in Disordered Eating. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. Eating disorders commonly occur among college-aged people and are related to emotional problems and functional impairment. Emotional regulation (ER) difficulties are a transdiagnostic risk factor and a key mechanism in disordered eating. Gross's Process Model of ER differentiates responses aimed to modulate emotional parameters before (antecedent-focused) and following (response-focused) an instance of emotion, with the literatures associating response-focused strategies with eating disorder difficulties. However, the role of antecedent-focused on eating disorder problems is not well-understood, in part due to the confounding effects of general distress that is associated with ineffective (maladaptive) ER and disordered eating. This study examines relationships between the Process Model in relation to disordered eating within a college student sample. 
• Methods. Three hundred college students (M = 23.37 years old, 89% female) completed measures of disordered eating (Eating Disorder Inventory), maladaptive antecedent-focused (negative explanatory styles, [Cognitive Style Questionnaire]), response-focused ER (self-handicapping [Self-Handicapping Scale], thought suppression [White Bear Thought Suppression Inventory], and brooding [Ruminative Response Scale]) and distress (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Latent variable modeling was used to test the intervening role of maladaptive response-focused ER strategies between their antecedent-focused counterparts and eating disorder problems, independent of distress and demographic characteristics.
• Results. The structural model fit the data well (CFI = .93, RMSEA = .07). As hypothesized, and independent of the effects of demographic characteristics, negative explanatory styles significantly predicted maladaptive ER (b=.55, p < .001) that, in turn, predicted greater eating disorder problems (b=.55, p = .001). This latter effect was also independent of distress, that too was linked to maladaptive ER (NA, b=1.63, p = .005; PA, b=-4.07, p < .001). Notably, negative explanatory styles and eating disorder problem were only indirectly related via maladaptive ER (b=.30, 95%CI .11-.52), and was unrelated to distress indices. Further, of the distress indices, only positive affect showed a positive relationship with eating disorder problems (b=.02, p = .04).
• Conclusion. The results suggest that some antecedent-focused ER responses influence eating disorder problems indirectly via response-focused strategies, which may suggest that maladaptive response-focused strategies may be an important treatment target. This possibility is further supported by their strong link with eating disorder symptoms independent of distress. The relationship between positive affect and eating disorder problems is consistent with evidence that for some, engaging in dietary restriction and purging reduces distress and upregulates hedonic feelings. Clinical implications will be discussed.

Forensic Psychology

 *Brooks, B., Fellows, K., & Yaroslavsky, I. (2022, April). Substance use moderates incarceration history effects on depression. Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

• Problem. Incarceration histories characterized by multiple detentions are a static recidivism risk factor that may confer risk indirectly via such intermediary agents as depression and substance use. Though related to depression, substance use has an emotion regulation function in the short term (but is maladaptive in the long term) and maybe more prevalent among formerly incarcerated persons as they encounter obstacles to their societal reintegration. Those with extensive incarceration histories may be particularly vulnerable, as such histories are known to erode personal and interpersonal coping resources, which substance use may further exacerbate. Given this we hypothesis the following: incarceration history will have a negative impact on depression, and that impact will change because of drug use (high vs low).
• Methods. 46 adults (Age M= 32.54 years, SD = 9.22, 41 % female) anonymously completed measures of substance use problems (Drug Use Disorders Identification Test), depression (depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21) and reported on their incarceration histories (number of lifetime incarcerations, length of the most recent incarceration, and time since their last incarceration).
• Results. Independent of demographic characteristics and time since the last incarceration, lifetime incarcerations predicted elevated depression levels (b=3.19, p = .03), while cumulative time spent incarcerated and substance use problems did not. However, as expected substance use evidenced significant second-order effects with incarceration histories (bs= -.32-.25, ps = .009-.024). Probes of the interaction terms revealed that depression severity increased as a function of lifetime incarcerations and their cumulative duration for those with low substance abuse levels (-1SD) (bs = 2.20-6.81); high substance abuse tendencies (+1SD) appeared to buffer against adverse effects of lifetime incarcerations (b=.47) and their duration (b=-2.76).
• Conclusion. As hypothesized, we found that incarceration history did indeed relate to depression, with depression increasing as the number of incarcerations increased. The number of incarceration can be thought of as an individual disruption that erodes personal and interpersonal coping resources, which explains why more incarcerations result in increased depression. Interestingly, high drug use seemed to be a "protective" factor against depression, remaining unchanged as incarcerations increased. Notably, those with substance abuse problems were in the moderate depression range. Therefore, the substance use protective effects are relative, and future research should examine the curious protective effects of substance use problems observed in this sample.