Category: Transdiagnostic
Sarah Dolan, M.A.
Graduate Student
Hofstra University
Brooklyn, New York
Greg Siegle, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sarah Dolan, M.A.
Graduate Student
Hofstra University
Brooklyn, New York
Cassondra Lyman, B.S., B.A.
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida
Leigh Brosof, M.S.
Student
University of Louisville
San Francisco, California
Peter Hitchcock, Ph.D.
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) refers to a range of transdiagnostic perseverative thinking styles that share a number of process features (e.g., worrying and rumination). RNT has been identified as a potential risk and maintenance factor for a range of psychiatric disorders and may also be a promising target for intervention. In existing work, RNT is most frequently assessed via self-report measures and conceptualized as a trait-level construct. Given its broad clinical relevance, using novel methods to assess and manipulate RNT in experimental and ecologically valid settings may yield important insights about affective, cognitive, and behavioral correlates of RNT that can inform transdiagnostic treatment development.
The current symposium will present findings from four recent studies that implement innovative techniques to assess and manipulate RNT in a range of research settings and among various clinical populations. Our symposium chair will open the symposium with a discussion about the clinical relevance of RNT as a transdiagnostic process in psychopathology as well as the pressing need to develop novel methods for the study of RNT. Our first presenter will present data from an ecological momentary assessment study using a new measure to assess episodes of RNT in daily life. The second presenter will then present findings from a study examining whether an experimental manipulation of perfectionism affects RNT and eating behavior. Our third presenter will present a novel reinforcement learning task with implications for the study of RNT and rumination-focused cognitive behavioral therapy. The final presenter will present findings from a proof-of-concept study for an experimental appearance-related RNT induction completed online with individuals with elevated eating disorder symptoms. Our discussant will conclude the symposium with a discussion of the implications of these findings for further research and treatment of RNT.
Given the documented promise of RNT as a transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology, there is a pressing need for novel assessment and research methodologies to study these processes. Broadly, this symposium seeks to showcase promising new directions for research on RNT across a range of psychiatric, undergraduate, and community populations. Both researchers and clinicians will gain insights about the relevance of RNT in mood, anxiety, and eating disorders and learn how best to leverage different research methods to study this important construct.
Presenter: Sarah C. Dolan, M.A. – Hofstra University
Co-author: Zoe Stout, M.A. – Hofstra University
Co-author: Ayla N. Gioia, M.A. – Hofstra University
Co-author: Ashley Kwak, -- – Hofstra University
Co-author: Clare Wieland, - – Hofstra University
Co-author: Elisabeth Kac, - – Hofstra University
Co-author: Cate Morales, M.A. – Hofstra University
Co-author: Erin E. Reilly, Ph.D. – University of California San Francisco
Presenter: Cassondra Lyman, B.S., B.A. – University of South Florida
Co-author: Eve Rosenfeld, Ph.D. – VA Palo Alto Health Care System/Stanford
Co-author: John Roberts, Ph.D. – Department of Psychology
Presenter: Leigh C. Brosof, M.S. – University of Louisville
Co-author: Cheri Levinson, Ph.D. – University of Louisville
Presenter: Peter F. Hitchcock, Ph.D. – Brown University
Co-author: Michael Frank, Ph.D – Brown University