Publications (177) View all
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Article: Validation of an existing measure of eating disorder risk for use with early adolescents.
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ABSTRACT: This study tested a brief eating disorder risk measure, originally developed for use with college students, in young adolescents. The measure is called the COEDS (College Eating Disorders Screen) and is constructed of items written in everyday language used by youth to discuss weight issues, rather than in the language of symptom assessment. A sample of 246 early adolescents (mean age, 13) completed questionnaire measures of puberty, eating disorder behavior, and eating disorder risk two times in a 12-month span. We found that: (a) the COEDS was internally consistent; (b) COEDS scores were stable across one year; and (c) COEDS scores predicted restricting and compensatory behavior one year later, above and beyond prediction from sex, race, prior restricting and compensatory behavior, and prior BMI. The COEDS appears to be a reliable and valid measure for risk assessment in youth; it may prove useful for researchers and clinicians interested in screening for risk and as a means to test whether prevention efforts have reduced risk.Eating behaviors 04/2013; 14(2):113-8. -
Article: Differential associations between perceived and objective measurement of distress tolerance in relation to ART adherence and response among HIV+ individuals
Behavior Therapy 03/2013; · 2.43 Impact Factor -
Article: An integrated approach to delivering exposure-based treatment for symptoms of PTSD and depression in OIF/OEF veterans: preliminary findings.
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ABSTRACT: Combat-exposed military personnel from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan report high rates of PTSD and associated psychiatric problems. A formidable body of research supports exposure therapy as a front-line intervention for PTSD; however, relative to studies of civilians, fewer investigations have evaluated the effectiveness of exposure therapy using military samples. Specifically, barriers to care (e.g., stigma associated with receiving mental health services ) may compromise utilization of evidence-based psychotherapy. As such, researchers have argued that veterans with PTSD may require an integrated and innovative approach to the delivery of exposure techniques. This paper presents the rationale for and preliminary data from an ongoing clinical trial that compares the home-based telehealth (HBT) application of a brief, behavioral treatment (Behavioral Activation and Therapeutic Exposure; BA-TE) for veterans with PTSD to the standard, in-person application of the same treatment. Forty OIF/OEF veterans with PTSD and MDD were consented, enrolled, and randomized to condition (BA-TE in-person, or BA-TE HBT) and symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed at pre- and posttreatment. Participants in both conditions experienced reductions in depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms between pre- and posttreatment, suggesting that HBT application of an integrated PTSD treatment may be feasible and effective.Behavior therapy 09/2012; 43(3):560-9. · 2.85 Impact Factor -
Article: Shared Variance Among Self-Report and Behavioral Measures of Distress Intolerance
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ABSTRACT: Distress intolerance may be an important individual difference variable in understanding maladaptive coping responses across diagnostic categories. However, the measurement of distress intolerance remains inconsistent across studies and little evidence for convergent validity among existing measures is available. This study evaluated the overlap among self-report and behavioral measures of distress intolerance in four samples, including an unselected sample, a sample of patients with drug dependence, and two samples of cigarette smokers. Results suggested that the self-report measures were highly correlated, as were the behavioral measures; however, behavioral and self-report measures did not exhibit significant associations with each other. There was some evidence of domain specificity, with anxiety sensitivity demonstrating strong associations with somatic distress intolerance, and a lack of association between behavioral measures that elicit affective distress and those that elicit somatic distress. These findings highlight a potential divergence in the literature relative to the conceptualization of distress intolerance as either sensitivity to distress or as the inability to persist at a task when distressed. Further research is needed to elucidate the conceptualization and measurement of distress intolerance to facilitate future clinical and research applications of this construct. KeywordsDistress intolerance–Measurement–Task persistence–Anxiety sensitivityCognitive Therapy and Research 04/2012; 35(3):266-275. · 1.33 Impact Factor -
Article: Development and preliminary validation of a behavioral task of negative reinforcement underlying risk-taking and its relation to problem alcohol use in college freshmen.
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ABSTRACT: A long line of theoretical and empirical evidence implicates negative reinforcement as a process underlying the etiology and maintenance of risky alcohol use behaviors from adolescence through emerging adulthood. However, the bulk of this literature has relied on self-report measures, and there is a notable absence of behavioral modes of assessments of negative reinforcement-based alcohol-related risk-taking. To address this clear gap in the literature, the current study presents the first published data on the reliability and validity of the Maryland Resource for the Behavioral Utilization of the Reinforcement of Negative Stimuli (MRBURNS), which is a modified version of the positive reinforcement-based Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Participants included a convenience sample of 116 college freshmen ever regular drinkers (aged 18 to 19) who completed both behavioral tasks; self-report measures of negative reinforcement/avoidance constructs and of positive reinforcement/appetitive constructs to examine convergent validity and discriminant validity, respectively; and self-report measures of alcohol use, problems, and motives to examine criterion validity. The MRBURNS evidenced sound experimental properties and reliability across task trials. In support of convergent validity, risk-taking on the MRBURNS correlated significantly with negative urgency, difficulties in emotion regulation, and depressive and anxiety-related symptoms. In support of discriminant validity, performance on the MRBURNS was unrelated to risk-taking on the BART, sensation seeking, and trait impulsivity. Finally, pertaining to criterion validity, risk-taking on the MRBURNS was related to alcohol-related problems but not heavy episodic alcohol use. Notably, risk-taking on the MRBURNS was associated with negative reinforcement-based but not with positive reinforcement-based drinking motives. Data from this initial investigation suggest the utility of the MRBURNS as a behavioral measure of negative reinforcement-based risk-taking that can provide a useful complement to existing self-report measures to improve our understanding of the relationship between avoidant reinforcement processes and risky alcohol use.Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research 02/2012; 36(6):950-7. · 3.34 Impact Factor
