Journal Of Clinical Psychology[JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
Sense-Making and Gratitude in the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Britt NF, Kowalski RM, Dodson C
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41307328 · Full text
OBJECTIVE: Early on the morning of September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene roared through the Southeastern United States, leaving a trail of devastation to be followed by a recovery period that will last months, and, in som...
OBJECTIVE: Early on the morning of September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene roared through the Southeastern United States, leaving a trail of devastation to be followed by a recovery period that will last months, and, in some places, even years. The purpose of the current study was to analyze the extent to which online posts in response to a well-being prompt yielded positive affective responses despite the magnitude of the crisis. METHOD AND RESULTS: One week and 2 weeks after the hurricane, a local news agency prompted followers on Facebook to respond with how they were coping. BERTopic modeling conducted on 1941 Facebook comments in response to the first prompt resulted in 25 non-noise topics. In the first sample (1 week after the Hurricane), the largest topic, centering around lack of power, contained 277 comments. The smallest topic, centering around the lack of Internet access, contained 11 relevant comments. Three categories generated from these topics were labeled "Outages" (702 comments), "Gratitude" (352 comments), and "Physical Recovery and Response" (257 comments). In the second sample (2 weeks after the Hurricane), the largest topic centered around gratitude and contained 30 comments. Outages again represented the largest category, with 67 comments, followed by gratitude with 57 comments. Sentiment analysis showed that gratitude had the highest sentiment with sentiment ratings increasing with the second sample. Significant differences by gender were not observed. CONCLUSION: These results show that people can experience significant life upheaval and potentially catastrophic loss and still find joy and gratitude. Focusing on factors where people still hold power, such as gratitude for being alive and for community support, allows people to reframe tragedy into an opportunity for growth.
Recent Innovations and Developmental Considerations in Mentalization-Based Therapy for Adolescents: A Case Illustration.
Allman M, Sharp C
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41292468 · Full text
Mentalization-based therapy for adolescents (MBT-A) is a treatment modality with an evidence base for young people struggling with borderline personality disorder, depression, and self-harm. Recently, several innovations...
Mentalization-based therapy for adolescents (MBT-A) is a treatment modality with an evidence base for young people struggling with borderline personality disorder, depression, and self-harm. Recently, several innovations to MBT-A have been described to expand its utility to new populations. In this paper, we first describe the basic structure of MBT-A and its interventions. Second, we describe developmental considerations of working with adolescents. Third, we describe recent innovations to MBT-A which expand its utility to new populations: (1) nosological reform toward a dimensional model of psychopathology, (2) mentalizing as a transdiagnostic factor for all adolescents receiving psychotherapy regardless of specific disorder or treatment modality, and (3) an explicit focus on the social context of the adolescent outside of the therapy room. We use case material to demonstrate the basic MBT-A structure and highlight the recent innovations which expand its utility.
Hope and Anxiety: A Meta-analytic Review.
Richardson AL, Long LJ, Gallagher MW
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41289211 · Full text
As the prevalence of anxiety disorders increases, there is rising interest in factors that protect against and alleviate anxiety. One such factor is hope, or the positive expectancy of utilizing pathways and agency to ac...
As the prevalence of anxiety disorders increases, there is rising interest in factors that protect against and alleviate anxiety. One such factor is hope, or the positive expectancy of utilizing pathways and agency to accomplish one's goals. The present study is a Meta-analytic review of literature examining associations between hope and anxiety in its various forms. The primary aim was to determine if greater hope was associated with lower anxiety cross-sectionally, longitudinally, and across diagnostic boundaries. A comprehensive literature review identified 129 studies with 155 unique effect sizes (ES) that met eligibility criteria, 102 (108 unique ES) of which examined the cross-sectional relationship between hope and trait anxiety (n = 31,514). The weighted, standardized mean ESr (-0.36, 95% CI [-0.38, -0.32]) reflected a moderate inverse relationship, while the longitudinal ES (k = 11) was slightly weaker (r = -0.27, 95% CI [-0.38, -0.17]. Mean ESs for the relationships between hope and disorder-specific anxiety were comparable in strength; the largest effect was seen between hope and social anxiety disorder. Moderator analysis indicated that the cross-sectional relationship between hope and trait anxiety was not impacted by sample type, but not by gender or age group. This systematic review demonstrates that hope is prospectively and cross-sectionally associated with lower levels of trait-level anxiety. In addition to being a robust predictor of lower trait anxiety, hope is associated with less disorder-specific anxiety. These findings indicate that hope is an impactful source of resilience that could be targeted in interventions for anxiety.
Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy - Eating Disorders (MIT-ED) in the Case of an 18-Year-Old Girl With Avoidant and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders, Binge Eating Disorder and Obesity.
Fioravanti G, MacBeth A, Nicolis M … +2 more , Gala E, Dimaggio G
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41277499 · Publisher ↗
Personality disorders (PD) in adolescents are a significant risk factor in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (ED). Comorbid PD and ED can influence each other and significantly impact on the young perso...
Personality disorders (PD) in adolescents are a significant risk factor in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (ED). Comorbid PD and ED can influence each other and significantly impact on the young person's well-being, worsening interpersonal relationships and social functioning. Patients with ED often use coping mechanisms related to food and body shape as maladaptive attempts to manage PD-related problems, like negative ideas about self and others. We describe the case of an 18-year-old adolescent presenting with binge eating disorder (BED), stage I obesity, and Avoidant and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders, treated with Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy for Eating Disorders (MIT-ED). The patient reported low self-esteem and insecurity about her decision. When her need for autonomy was frustrated, she adopted dysfunctional behaviors such as chasing perfectionistic goals to increase her self-esteem. Further, when criticized feeling useless, she would mitigate her feelings of shame and sadness through social withdrawal and binge eating. Therapy focused on improving awareness of the mental states that contribute to social withdrawal and dysfunctional eating behaviors and to build psychological resources to support self-worth and autonomy. We describe the addition of family therapy to the treatment protocol to address some of the interpersonal and relational dynamics that maintained Asia's sense of herself as worthless and unable to pursue her own goals. Implications for treating adolescents presenting with comorbid PD and ED are discussed.
Long-Term Effects of School-Based CBT in Low-Risk Children and Adolescents: A Bayesian Meta-Analysis.
Zhang X, Liang Z, Kang J
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41277494 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are increasingly common among children and adolescents. While school-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a promising intervention, most research has focused on its effects in hi...
BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety are increasingly common among children and adolescents. While school-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a promising intervention, most research has focused on its effects in high-risk or symptomatic populations. This leaves a critical gap in our understanding of its effectiveness as a universal prevention strategy for the general, low-risk student population. Establishing whether CBT can benefit low-risk students is crucial for developing proactive, school-wide mental health systems aimed at preventing future problems before they emerge. This study aimed to fill this gap by evaluating the short- and long-term effects of universal school-based CBT on low-risk children and young people, providing insights for optimizing intervention programs. METHODS: Systematic searches of MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsyInfo were conducted from inception to January 15, 2025 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of school-based CBT for depression and anxiety in low-risk populations. Paired and regression meta-analyses of these results were conducted using Bayesian hierarchical models. RESULTS: The 31 RCTs included a total of 19,865 children and young people. Compared to the control group, school-based CBT produced a statistically significant but very small improvement in depressive symptoms (SMD: -0.06, 95% CrI: -0.08 to -0.04) and a small reduction in anxiety symptoms (SMD: -0.19, 95% CrI: -0.22 to -0.17). These effects appeared to be maintained for up to 1 year. Exploratory analyses suggested that males may benefit more from anxiety interventions. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first meta-analytic evidence that universal school-based CBT can produce small but durable, long-term preventive effects in low-risk youth. Although the very low quality of the underlying evidence means the findings are not robust enough to support widespread implementation at this time, they establish a crucial signal of effectiveness. The primary implication is that universal CBT is a promising strategy that warrants significant investment in future high-quality, large-scale trials to confirm its real-world value.
Mentalization-Based Group Therapy for Personality Disorder in Adolescence: A Single Case Study.
Pyndt K, Nikolajsen KH
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41260925 · Publisher ↗
Treating personality disorders in adolescents presents a significant challenge, as intense emotions and unstable relationships often lead to early dropout from therapy. This is particularly concerning, given that psychot...
Treating personality disorders in adolescents presents a significant challenge, as intense emotions and unstable relationships often lead to early dropout from therapy. This is particularly concerning, given that psychotherapy is the primary treatment for personality disorders and that such a diagnosis is typically associated with severe difficulties daily functioning. The case report of a 16-year-old girl with borderline personality disorder illustrates how a history of trauma and early unstable relationships can contribute to later difficulties in emotion regulation and impair the ability to think clearly under pressure. During group therapy, interpersonal conflicts were resolved as the girl became increasingly able to understand both her own mind and the mind of others. A new conflict arose and intensified when the therapists were required to inform external authorities, highlighting the importance of mentalizing within the team and the advantages of a team-based approach to treating personality disorders, which includes a combined treatment of both individual and group therapy. The case illustration demonstrates how mentalization-based interventions can help rebuild trust and repair misunderstandings in therapy, thereby preventing dropout and illustrating the potential of psychotherapy for these patients. Concrete examples of possible interventions for managing interpersonal conflict in group therapy are provided with the aim of encouraging others to engage in the treatment of personality disorders in adolescence.
Some Deliberations on Deliberate Practice in Psychotherapy: A Commentary.
Macdonald J, Muran JC, Dimaggio G
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41235501 · Publisher ↗
In this commentary on the issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session dedicated to Deliberate Practice (DP), we highlight commonalities between DP supervision as illustrated in the target papers and Alliance-...
In this commentary on the issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session dedicated to Deliberate Practice (DP), we highlight commonalities between DP supervision as illustrated in the target papers and Alliance-Focused Training (AFT) and applaud the shift towards more experiential learning. We also note one major difference, namely the absence of Behavioral Rehearsal (BR) in AFT in spite of this being a key element of DP as conceptualised in the Sentio Supervision Model and in the target papers. We then offer some critique of DP as modelled in this issue. We suggest that empirical evidence on what constitutes therapeutic expertise is undeveloped. Consequently, there is a risk of building a super-structure of DP on foundations that still await solid empirical support. We note how DP might be tailored more closely to what is known about therapeutic effectiveness, drawing on process research and Task Analysis. We then suggest that DP may have failed to sufficiently conceptualise the relational nature of therapeutic expertise-different in character to skill training in fields where DP was originally formulated and developed. We argue that processes of interpersonal attunement offer a frame in which parenting skills, developmental psychopathology, the earning of secure attachment both in and outside of therapy, and the safe base of supervision can all be gathered into a unifying paradigm. We end by arguing that the ability to be mindfully present in relationship underpins the experiential depth and skilful responsiveness at the heart of both attachment and successful psychotherapy.
Dampening of Positive Affect Serves an Emotional Contrast Avoidance Function: Preliminary Evidence From an Adult Community Sample.
Bogaert L, Segura-Vargas MA, Dunn BD … +3 more , Hallford DJ, Newman MG, Raes F
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41212762 · Full text
Dampening of positive affect (PA) constitutes a transdiagnostic risk and maintenance factor for affective dysregulation in various psychopathologies, including depression. However, the motives underlying this PA downregu...
Dampening of positive affect (PA) constitutes a transdiagnostic risk and maintenance factor for affective dysregulation in various psychopathologies, including depression. However, the motives underlying this PA downregulation strategy remain unclear, even though they may be highly relevant for improving traditional psychological treatments. This study examined whether avoidance of negative emotional contrasts (NECs) and diminished preference for positive emotions were predictive of dampening. The latter was operationalised as low pro- and high contra-hedonic emotion regulation (ER) goal endorsement. An adult community sample (N = 159) completed an online survey, and multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine the predictive validity of both factors, after controlling for age, gender, and repetitive negative thinking (RNT). Higher levels of NEC avoidance and higher contra-hedonic ER goal endorsement were consistently found to uniquely predict concurrent dampening levels, above and beyond age, gender and RNT. Crucially, inclusion of both factors in the same regression model still yielded evidence for the unique predictive validity of NEC avoidance. Findings support the possibility that dampening is motivated by NEC avoidance rather than solely by emotional preferences. Study limitations are noted, and implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.
A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Group Transdiagnostic Behavior Therapy (TBT) and Group Disorder-Specific Psychotherapies in Veterans With Emotional Disorders.
Gros DF, Allan NP, Pavlacic JM
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41200839 · Full text
OBJECTIVE: Transdiagnostic psychotherapies offer potential advantages to traditional, disorder-specific approaches, including coverage of comorbidity, dissemination and implementation, and patient access. Although initia...
OBJECTIVE: Transdiagnostic psychotherapies offer potential advantages to traditional, disorder-specific approaches, including coverage of comorbidity, dissemination and implementation, and patient access. Although initial investigations testing the efficacy and capability to be disseminated exist, very few studies have tested these interventions within group settings. METHODS: The present study involved a randomized clinical trial of Group Transdiagnostic Behavior Therapy (G-TBT) and matching group disorder-specific therapies (G-DST) in 243 veterans with major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Clinical symptom outcomes, patient satisfaction and participation, and access in terms of days between intake and the initiation of treatment were examined. G-DSTs were Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression and Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD. Groups were initiated as soon as at least 6 participants were assigned. RESULTS: As expected, clinical outcomes for MDD and PTSD symptoms were consistently reduced in G-TBT within principal diagnostic groups, as well as associated symptoms and functional impairment. These outcomes were generally consistent with outcomes in the G-DSTs. While therapy satisfaction was similar across groups, significantly faster group assignment and less attrition were observed in G-TBT compared to G-DSTs. CONCLUSIONS: Together, the present findings provide support for the efficacy of G-TBT and with comparable effects to well-established G-DSTs for MDD and PTSD, but with potentially improved access to care via transdiagnostic assignment compared to tradition disorder-specific assignment for group therapies.
What Emerging Treatments Teach us About Psychotherapy for Adolescent Personality Disorder and the Road Ahead.
Jørgensen MS
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41187168 · Publisher ↗
This commentary, written for Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, synthesizes five case-based contributions on psychotherapy for adolescents with personality disorders (PDs). Although PDs often emerge in adolescen...
This commentary, written for Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, synthesizes five case-based contributions on psychotherapy for adolescents with personality disorders (PDs). Although PDs often emerge in adolescence, age-adapted treatments remain scarce. Randomized clinical trials are still limited, making carefully constructed case studies important for identifying promising treatments. Three of the featured cases draw on mentalization-based therapy for adolescents, implemented in combined group-individual formats, adapted toward dimensional models of PD, or extended socioecologically to involve wider social networks, such as family, peers, and school systems. The remaining two derive from metacognitive approaches: one applying Metacognitive Interpersonal Group Therapy (MIT) for Adolescents in a case of dependent and borderline PD, and the other applying MIT for Eating Disorders with an adolescent with binge eating disorder and comorbid avoidant and obsessive-compulsive PD. Across studies, four shared priorities emerge. First, the capacity to think, reason, and regulate mental states, defined as mentalizing or metacognition, serves as a central mechanism of change. Second, impairments in self and interpersonal functioning are treated as the core pathology in PDs. Third, therapeutic progress depends on actively engaging the adolescent's broader social context rather than working solely within the therapist-patient dyad. Fourth, comorbidity, whether trauma-related disorders, substance use, eating disorders, or others, should be treated integratively to ensure targeted, personalized treatment. These cases demonstrate that innovation in adolescent PD treatment often begins with single cases. The task ahead is to translate these clinical examples into rigorously tested, developmentally sensitive, and ecologically grounded intervention models that can be applied in early intervention programs.
Understanding the Co-occurrence of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Among 2021 Henan Flood Victims Through Panel Network Analysis: A 6-Month, Three-Wave Longitudinal Study.
Zhou Z, Ma Z
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41186084 · Publisher ↗
Previous studies have mostly used cross-sectional network to analyze the co-occurrence of depression and anxiety, but this method cannot capture the temporal influences between symptoms. This study uses longitudinal data...
Previous studies have mostly used cross-sectional network to analyze the co-occurrence of depression and anxiety, but this method cannot capture the temporal influences between symptoms. This study uses longitudinal data to explore the dynamic structure of the cooccurrence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among flood victims in Henan in 2021. Data were collected at 3-month intervals from July 20, 2021, to January 30, 2022, and the final sample included 279 disaster victims reporting on items measuring anxiety and depression. We employ the generalized vector autoregressive model approach to estimate network models. The contemporaneous network results show that, within the same measurement occasion, all connections between anxiety and depressive symptoms are positive, with the strongest connection observed between "Sleep" and "Appetite". And "Nervous" is the most central symptom, while "Irritable" and "Motor" are the top two strongest bridge symptoms. The temporal network results indicate that depressive symptoms are more temporally causal and predictive, while the temporal associations between anxiety symptoms are rare. And depressive symptoms were found to predict anxiety symptoms. Additionally, "Suicide" and "Concentration" showed significant positive autocorrelations, indicating a self-sustaining capacity. "Anhedonia" has the highest in-strength centrality (incoming influence from prior time point), demonstrating the most downstream effect. In contrast, "Concentration" has an out-strength centrality (outgoing influence to the next time point) far exceeding that of other symptoms, suggesting it has the most outward influence. These patterns suggest testable, symptom-focused priorities for post-disaster care: early attention-focused strategies to curb downstream spread from concentration problems; behavioral activation for anhedonia; proactive safety planning and scheduled follow-ups for suicidal ideation; brief transdiagnostic modules targeting irritability and motor activation to reduce comorbidity; and integrated routines addressing the sleep-appetite dyad. Implications are observational and intended to inform hypothesis-driven trials and service planning.
The Potential Role of Serum Iron in Depression: Further Exploration of Future Research Directions.
Wang X, Chen H, Chang Z … +2 more , Zhang J, Cao S
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41183226 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Depressive disorder (DD) is a common affective disorder with an unclear specific etiology. Although many previous studies have suggested that iron metabolism is involved in the development of DD, there is a l...
BACKGROUND: Depressive disorder (DD) is a common affective disorder with an unclear specific etiology. Although many previous studies have suggested that iron metabolism is involved in the development of DD, there is a lack of validated genetic evidence regarding whether iron metabolism-related indices (i.e., total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation, ferritin, and serum iron) are causally related to DD. METHODS: This study conducted a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis based on the largest existing genome-wide association study (GWAS) dataset. We used MR to investigate the causal relationship between iron metabolism indicators and DD by controlling for confounding factors and utilizing randomly assigned genetic instrumental variables that are not affected by any causal effects. RESULTS: Through coordinated analysis of 86 iron metabolism-related SNPs and 16,380,457 DD-related SNPs, 65 SNPs with genome-wide significance that were found to be related to DD iron homeostasis were screened. The IVW analysis results suggest that total iron binding capacity (TIBC) (β = 0.021; 95% Cl = -0.059 to 0.101; p value = 0.610), transferrin saturation (TSAT) (β = -0.038; 95% Cl = -0.146 to 0.070; p value = 0.489), and ferritin (FER) (β = 0.002; 95% Cl = -0.139 to 0.143; p value = 0.982) have no genetic causal relationship with DD, and serum iron (SI) (β = -0.100; 95% Cl = -0.194 to -0.006; p value = 0.040) is considered to have a genetic causal relationship with DD. The Cochran test of MR-IVW suggests that TSAT (p value = 0.125), FER (p value = 0.089), SI (p value = 0.667), and DD have no heterogeneity in the MR analysis results. The MR Egger level multieffect test results show that TIBC (p value = 0.875), TSAT (p value = 0.585), FER (p value = 0.990), and SI (p value = 0.352) all have no level multieffect. In addition, the IVW analysis results of the effect of DD on iron metabolism indicators suggest that there is no causal relationship between DD and TIBC (β = -0.009; 95% Cl = -0.024 to 0.007; p value = 0.218), TSAT (β = -0.008; 95% Cl = -0.024 to 0.008; p value = 0.277), FER (β = -0.002; 95% Cl = -0.016 to 0.012; p value = 0.761), and SI (β = -0.008; 95% Cl = -0.024 to 0.008; p value = 0.263). The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that no heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy was present in the observed results (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The iron metabolism markers TIBC, TSAT, and FER have no genetic causal relationship with DD, while SI has a genetic causal relationship with DD. Decreased SI levels may increase the risk of DD. In addition, DD has no clear genetic association with the four indicators of iron metabolism.
Application of Psychometric Methods in Dimensional Analysis and Integration of Assessment Tools in Early Diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Le Donne I, Mazza M, Attanasio M … +4 more , Covone N, Greco MP, Scurti V, Valenti M
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Mar · PMID 41139392 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is crucial for timely intervention, and requires reliable and valid screening and diagnostic tools. The Toddler Module of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Sc...
BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is crucial for timely intervention, and requires reliable and valid screening and diagnostic tools. The Toddler Module of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), is widely used but its factor structure and applicability in the clinical practice need further investigation. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the underlying dimensional structure of the ADOS-2 Toddler Module in Italian context, and to examine the association between the identified ASD symptom dimensions and cognitive development, as measured by the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (GMDS). METHODS: The study was conducted in two phases: in Phase 1, Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) was used to identify latent dimensions of the ADOS-2 Toddler Module items in a sample of 91 Italian children aged 12-30 months at risk for ASD. In Phase 2, structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed on a subsample of 60 children who completed the GMDS to examine associations between ASD symptom dimensions and cognitive development. RESULTS: EGA revealed a stable three-factor structure underlying the Toddler Module items. The SEM analysis demonstrated a good model fit and significant associations between ASD symptom dimensions and the Personal-Social subscale of the GMDS. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide preliminary evidence for a three-dimensional structure of ASD symptoms in very young children and suggest that cognitive development, particularly social-personal skills, is related to early ASD symptomatology. The results have potential implications for refining early diagnostic assessments and guiding clinical practice.
The Lived Experience of Mothers of Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused- an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.
Browne D, Hanna D, Jordan JA … +2 more , Howie C, Dyer KFW
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41117496 · Full text
OBJECTIVE: Mothers of children who are survivors of sexual violence experience significant distress from the discovery of their child's abuse. Previous research has mostly focused on the mental health symptoms arising fr...
OBJECTIVE: Mothers of children who are survivors of sexual violence experience significant distress from the discovery of their child's abuse. Previous research has mostly focused on the mental health symptoms arising from this type of trauma, rather than the personal journey and meaning mothers take from these incidents. This study aimed to examine the lived experiences of non-offending mothers of children who have been sexually abused. METHODS: Six mothers, aged 34-53 years-old, whose children had experienced sexual abuse took part in the study. All participants were attending a specialist multidisciplinary service in Northern Ireland for the investigation and treatment of sexual violence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and content was analysed via interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: Three superordinate themes emerged from the interviews: (1) "The Sins of the Mother", comprising three subordinate themes centering on negative evaluations of the self and perceived judgements from others; (2) "Impotent Anger", relating to injustice and revenge fantasies; and (3) "It Changed Me as a Parent", comprising two subordinate themes on how the mothers perceived and parented their child after the abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers perceived the abuse of their child as incompatible with their view of themselves as good parents, leading to internalized feelings of shame as well as externalized feelings of anger and injustice. This had implications for the mothers' relationship with their child and confidence in parenting.
Guilt, Not Shame, Mediates the Longitudinal Relationship Between Moral Distress and Suicidal Ideation Among Frontline Nurses During COVID-19.
Cenkner DP, Burton CW, Jenkins D … +2 more , Chan GK, Zalta AK
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41117444 · Full text
OBJECTIVE: Nurses frequently experienced moral distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moral distress can lead to negative mental health outcomes, such as depression and suicidal ideation, but the mechanisms underlying th...
OBJECTIVE: Nurses frequently experienced moral distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moral distress can lead to negative mental health outcomes, such as depression and suicidal ideation, but the mechanisms underlying these relationships are not well understood. The current study examined whether guilt and shame resulting from morally distressing events mediate the relationships between moral distress and depression symptoms/suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Registered nurses (N = 96) who directly cared for COVID-19 patients completed self-report assessments at two time points over 3 months between May and November 2021. RESULTS: Time 1 guilt (OR = 1.39, p = 0.03) mediated the relationship between Time 1 moral distress and Time 2 suicidal ideation, controlling for Time 1 suicidal ideation. By contrast, Time 1 shame was not a significant mediator (OR = 0.84, p = 0.40). Neither guilt (B = 0.03, p = 0.75) nor shame (B = -0.05, p = 0.59) at Time 1 mediated the relationship between Time 1 moral distress and Time 2 depression symptoms, controlling for Time 1 depression symptoms. However, there was a significant direct effect of Time 1 moral distress on Time 2 depression symptoms (B = 0.20, p = 0.03) in this model. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest the importance of educating the nursing workforce on the psychological consequences of workplace moral distress. Intervening on feelings of guilt may reduce suicidal ideation in nurses endorsing moral distress.
Manual Dexterity Abilities and Dual Tasking in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder and Typically Developing Children.
Bieber E, Smits-Engelsman B, Sgandurra G … +6 more , Martini G, Basu A, Guzzetta A, Cioni G, Feys H, Klingels K
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41117019 · Full text
UNLABELLED: Poor manual skills in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) may be dependent on task complexity and due to difficulties in the automatization phase of the motor learning process. Increased t...
UNLABELLED: Poor manual skills in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) may be dependent on task complexity and due to difficulties in the automatization phase of the motor learning process. Increased task demands and the dual-task paradigm can be used to test these hypotheses. OBJECTIVES: We aim to investigate (1) manual dexterity abilities using increased levels of difficulty; (2) dual tasking using an experimental protocol of the Tyneside Pegboard Test (TPT). METHOD: Sixteen children with DCD and 16 age-matched typically developing (TD) children were included. Various experimental conditions of the TPT (unimanual, bimanual and dual task) were administered. The dual-task paradigm comprised a primary unimanual task and a cognitive task (auditory non-verbal task). Parents were asked to fill out the eConners questionnaire to report attentional difficulties. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to compare possible differences in effects on the performance of the groups. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between dual-task performance and ADHD index of the eConners questionnaire. RESULTS: Children with DCD performed significantly worse in all task conditions (unimanual, bimanual, dual task) compared to TD children. In unimanual and bimanual conditions, they did no not present a higher impact of task constraints. Dual-task performances did not have a differential effect on groups and were not interfered by attentional difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: Children with DCD exhibit a general slowness in all TPT tasks. Our findings do not support the automatization deficit hypothesis.
Is Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Beneficial for All? Examining the Relationship With Psychological Well-Being in the Context of Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety.
Heiland AM, Howard KP, Stahl JL … +1 more , Cheavens JS
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41099489 · Full text
INTRODUCTION: Interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) involves seeking out others to modify one's own emotions and is theorized to benefit health and well-being. While there is evidence of the association between IER and...
INTRODUCTION: Interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) involves seeking out others to modify one's own emotions and is theorized to benefit health and well-being. While there is evidence of the association between IER and subjective well-being, it is unclear how IER processes are associated with psychological well-being and whether the associations between IER and well-being are similar at different levels of psychopathology, such as depression and anxiety symptoms. METHODS: Participants (N = 147) completed measures of psychological well-being, depression, anxiety, and IER within their social networks (i.e., how frequently they seek IER from social network partners and the efficacy of these IER attempts). RESULTS: We found that perceived efficacy of IER, but not frequency of IER, was positively associated with psychological well-being, above and beyond overall social network quality and size. Additionally, symptoms of depression and anxiety each moderated the relationship between IER-efficacy and psychological well-being, such that the relationship between IER-efficacy and psychological well-being was weaker at higher levels of symptoms. These findings are consistent with the possibility that IER is less beneficial for those experiencing greater psychological distress. DISCUSSION: These findings highlight the importance of understanding for whom and under what circumstances IER is most strongly associated with well-being.
Positive Side-Effects of Psychotherapy: The Influence of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Self-Concept in Patients With Panic Disorder.
Renner V, Duhm J, Lorenz T … +2 more , Joraschky P, Petrowski K
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41099421 · Full text
OBJECTIVE: Past studies show a strong association of the self-concept (SC) and symptom burden for many mental disorders including anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a highly effective treatment for...
OBJECTIVE: Past studies show a strong association of the self-concept (SC) and symptom burden for many mental disorders including anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a highly effective treatment for anxiety disorders that has also been shown to improve SC in patients suffering from such. However, whilst CBT has been shown to be an effective intervention for treating panic disorder (PD), the effects of CBT on SC in patients with PD as well as the predictive role of SC for therapy outcome in these patients remain unclear. This is hence the first study investigating the effects of CBT on SC in patients with PD. METHODS: PD-patient's SC (N = 215) was assessed through the Frankfurter self-concept scales before and after a 5-week semi-residential manualized CBT intervention not specifically targeting SC. Therapy outcome was assessed through the Symptom Checklist and the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: 8 out of 10 SC scales including self-esteem (SE) significantly changed from pre- to posttreatment assessment (d = 0.12 to 0.36). Regarding symptom severity, patients showed reduced general symptom burden (d = 0.89) and depressive symptoms (d = 0.79) following CBT intervention. SE before receiving CBT predicted therapy outcome with regard to general symptom burden but not depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that CBT enhances different facets of SC in patients with PD as a positive side-effect, suggesting that improving SC may offer the potential to optimize treatment outcome. Further studies are required to better understand the underlying mechanisms of CBT influencing SC and to identify what aspects of SC are key with respect to symptom burden in patients with PD.
Gender Differences in Social Cognition and Their Association With Functioning in Individuals With Non-Affective Psychosis.
Bröcker AL, Sauter H, von Haebler D … +2 more , Montag C, Just SA
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41084972 · Full text
OBJECTIVES: Previous studies in non-affective psychosis (NAP) consistently found that patients' functioning is associated with social cognition and gender, with higher functioning in female patients. This study investiga...
OBJECTIVES: Previous studies in non-affective psychosis (NAP) consistently found that patients' functioning is associated with social cognition and gender, with higher functioning in female patients. This study investigated the impact of social cognition on the relationship between gender and functioning, and examined psychometric properties of the Narrative Emotions Task (NET) as a measure of social cognition with high ecological validity. DESIGN AND METHODS: N = 95 outpatients with NAP were assessed regarding functioning, social cognition, and psychopathology. Correlations were computed and a potential indirect effect of gender on functioning, mediated by social cognition, was examined. RESULTS: Results showed a significant positive correlation between social cognition and functioning, with female patients exhibiting higher functioning. There were no gender differences in the total score of the NET, and the indirect effect of social cognition through gender on functioning could not be confirmed. Gender differences in social cognition were only evident for the NET emotion perception index. Moreover, there was some evidence of a potentially mediating effect of emotion perception concerning the relationship between gender and functioning, but this effect was not significant when covariates were added to the analysis. The NET showed high internal consistency and was correlated with an established instrument of metacognition (Metacognition Assessment Scale-Abbreviated). CONCLUSIONS: The findings equally broaden the picture and highlight the need for further investigation into gender differences in NAP, their underlying mechanisms, and their impact on functioning. The NET appears to be a feasible measure for assessing social cognition, going beyond laboratory tasks.
Mending the Mosaic: Exploring Treatment Pathways for Adolescent Personality Disorder.
Bo S, Lind M, Inchausti F … +1 more , Sharp C
J Clin Psychol · 2026 Feb · PMID 41084963 · Publisher ↗
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