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49
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Introduction
Dr. Broman-Fulks is a licensed psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University. Dr. Broman-Fulks' research focuses on the assessment, prevention, and treatment of anxiety disorders. Dr. Broman-Fulks is particularly interested in identifying risk factors for anxiety pathology, and interventions that reduce vulnerability to anxiety disorders. Dr. Broman-Fulks' lab is currently conducting a series of studies investigating the anxiolytic effects of mindfulness interventions.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
July 2005 - present
Education
August 2000 - July 2005
August 1996 - December 1999
Publications
Publications (49)
Anxiety sensitivity is a known precursor to panic attacks and panic disorder, and involves the misinterpretation of anxiety-related sensations. Aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce generalized anxiety, and may also reduce anxiety sensitivity through exposure to feared physiological sensations. Accordingly, 54 participants with elevated anxiety...
The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effects of a single bout of aerobic exercise versus resistance training on cognitive vulnerabilities for anxiety disorders. Seventy-seven participants (60% female; 84% Caucasian) were randomized to complete 20 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, resistance training, or rest, followed by...
Most conceptualizations of evidence-based practice view it as a “three legged stool” consisting of: the use of best available research evidence, clinical expertise, and client preferences. Although empirical evidence and clinical expertise have received greater empirical attention, relatively little research has systematically explored client prefe...
Background: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are empirically supported treatments for anxiety and panic disorder (PD), though they differ in their putative vulnerability and maintenance processes. The present study examined the incremental validity of several of these models' proposed core processes, in...
Experiential avoidance is conceptualized as a core psychopathological process in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Much of the empirical support for the theoretical conceptualization and efficacy of ACT interventions is based on operationally defining experiential avoidance as scores on the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II; Bon...
Panic disorder is costly, and while evidence-based interventions for panic disorder are effective, obtaining a diagnosis often precludes access to such treatments. This is problematic because the categorical diagnosis of panic disorder (i.e. "you have it, or you don't") supported by modern diagnostic manuals contradicts empirically supported dimens...
Experiential avoidance, a trait-like construct referring to the tendency to rigidly avoid or change unpleasant internal experiences stemming from an unwillingness to experience them, is believed to contribute to the development and maintenance of various forms of psychopathology. Despite significant research on this construct, it remains unclear wh...
The anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of regular physical exercise have been well documented, though the mechanisms through which exercise alleviates symptoms of emotion disorders require further investigation. Mounting research indicates that exercise reduces anxiety sensitivity, a known vulnerability factor for the development and maintenance...
College students with ADHD are considered to be “high-functioning” when compared to other ADHD populations, yet tend to experience higher general test anxiety when compared to non-affected students. Research has also shown Math Computation performance of students with ADHD to be impaired. However, no published study has examined the connection betw...
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is often treated as a discrete diagnostic entity that represents a naturally occurring class, though empirical evidence largely supports a dimensional conceptualization of social fears. Further, the inclusion of a “performance only” specifier in the DSM-5 implies that individuals who experience intense social anxiety e...
The “big five” taxonomy, also called the five factor model, is a framework for personality that is ubiquitous in the literature of psychology. This organization is composed of five personality domains, Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), Conscientiousness (C), Openness to Experience (O), and Agreeableness (A). The accepted, but largely unexamined, a...
By definition, risk taking involves uncertainty surrounding potential outcomes. However, risky decisions can vary in the amount of ambiguity about the likelihood of each outcome occurring. The current study tested the hypothesis that the amount of ambiguity in risky-decisions would moderate the relationship between risk taking and anxiety. In this...
The present research examined the latent structure of self-injurious behavior (SIB) to determine whether suicidal self-injury (SSI) and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) reflect categorically distinct types of SIB or dimensional variations of the same construct. Participants consisted of 1,525 female undergraduates across several universities in the U...
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often diagnosed in childhood but persists into adulthood in many cases. This disorder, which is defined by the core symptoms of IA and HI, is also associated with impairment in academic settings, interpersonal relationships, and behavioral risk taking. While ADHD is most often treated with medicati...
High trait anxiety has been linked with risk-avoidant decision-making, though little is known regarding the specific facets of anxiety contributing to this negative association. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor for anxiety-related pathology, may be particularly relevant to risk decision-making given that risk-taking...
The symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been linked to dysfunction in numerous life domains for both children and adults. As such, it is likely that individuals with these and other related symptoms (e.g., sluggish cognitive tempo, SCT) may also experience impaired quality of life. The current study examines the associa...
Objective: Given that ADHD has been linked to dysfunction across development and in many life domains, it is likely that individuals experiencing these symptoms are at increased risk for experiencing stress. The current study examines the association between ADHD and other psychiatric symptoms and perceived stress in a community sample of adults. M...
Despite controversy regarding the classification and diagnostic status of hoarding disorder, there remains a paucity of research on the nosology of hoarding that is likely to inform the classification debate. The present investigation examined the latent structure of hoarding in three, large independent samples. Data for three well-validated measur...
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of quercetin supplementation on neurocognitive functioning.
A large community sample (n = 941) completed a 12-week supplementation protocol, and participants were randomly assigned to receive 500 mg/day or 1000 mg/day quercetin, or placebo.
Results failed to indicate significant effects of...
The present study examined the latent structure of eating disorder symptoms in a large sample of patients with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa restricting type, anorexia nervosa binge eating/purging type, and bulimia nervosa (n=3747). Three taxometric procedures (MAXimum EIGenvalue (MAXEIG), Mean Above Minus Below A (MAMBAC), and Latent-Mode Factor...
This investigation examined the measurement properties of the Three Domains of Disgust Scale (TDDS). Principal components analysis in Study 1 (n = 206) revealed three factors of Pathogen, Sexual, and Moral Disgust that demonstrated excellent reliability, including test–retest over 12 weeks. Confirmatory factor analyses in Study 2 (n = 406) supporte...
In this study, we measured neurocognitive function, perceived stress, quality of life (QOL), and psychopathology in community-dwelling adults, with data contrasted across tertiles of exercise frequency.
A group of 998 adults (age 18-85 yr) was measured for neurocognitive function using a computerized neuropsychological test from CNS Vital Signs (Mo...
Mere repeated administration of anxiety sensitivity (AS) measures (i.e., fear of anxiety-related sensations) leads to predictably
lower scores, and this effect cannot be attributed to regression to the mean or the indirect provision of anxiety related
information. The purpose of this study was to determine whether (a) the number of times an anxiety...
Information-processing models of anxiety posit that anxiety pathology is associated with processing biases that consume cognitive resources and may detract from one's ability to process environmental stimuli. Previous research has consistently indicated that high anxiety has a negative impact on cognitive and psychomotor performance. Anxiety sensit...
Hypochondriasis has been conceptualized as both a distinct category that is characterized by a disabling illness preoccupation and as a continuum of health concerns. Empirical support for one of these theoretical models will clarify inconsistent assessment approaches and study designs that have impeded theory and research. To facilitate progress, t...
Anxiety sensitivity, or the fear of anxiety sensations, has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety disorders, particularly panic disorder. Recently, inconsistent findings have been reported regarding the latent structure of anxiety sensitivity. Whereas some taxometric studies of anxiety sensitivity have reported evidence of categorical latent s...
Worry has been described as a core feature of several disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The present study examined the latent structure of worry by applying 3 taxometric procedures (MAXEIG, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) to data collected from 2 large samples. Worry in the first sample (Study 1) of community participants (n=1,355) wa...
The present study examines the association between disgust sensitivity (DS) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms in two non-clinical samples. Findings from Study 1 (n=270) revealed a significant association between DS and OCD symptoms even after controlling for negative affect and anxiety sensitivity. Subsequent analysis also revealed a...
Exposure to potentially traumatic events is a common occurrence. Most individuals exposed to such an event are resilient or recover rapidly, although some individuals develop psychological problems that warrant treatment. However, a small percentage of individuals seek traditional treatment, thereby calling for novel approaches or methodologies of...
The most commonly used measure of anxiety sensitivity is the 36-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index—Revised (ASI-R). Exploratory factor analyses have produced several different factors structures for the ASI-R, but an acceptable fit using confirmatory factor analytic approaches has only been found for a 21-item version of the instrument. We evaluated th...
Debate has arisen over whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is most accurately conceptualized as representing a discrete clinical syndrome or an extreme reaction to traumatic life events. Recent taxometric research using predominantly adult samples appears to support a dimensional model of PTSD, raising questions about the utility of curren...
Recent research has identified specific disorders that appear to be better characterized by the experience of aversion, rather than anxiety, which evolve from disgust-related affect. Three mathematically distinct taxometric procedures--MAXEIG, MAMBAC, and L-Mode--were applied to data from a large undiagnosed sample (N=909) to determine whether aver...
Repeated administration of anxiety sensitivity measures can often produce declining scores, even in ostensible control groups, which is a significant concern for researchers. The reasons for these changes are as yet unknown, but could be because of regression to the mean in samples selected on extreme scores, exposure to general information about a...
Considerable debate exists within the perfectionism literature regarding whether perfectionism is most accurately conceptualized as a dimensional or categorical construct. Specifically, some researchers have viewed perfectionism as a continuous construct, with extreme scores being associated with negative psychological outcomes (e.g., obsessive–com...
Anxiety sensitivity has been implicated as a risk factor for the development and maintenance of panic and other anxiety disorders. Although researchers have generally assumed that anxiety sensitivity is a dimensional, rather than categorical, variable, recent taxometric research has raised questions concerning the accuracy of this assumption. The p...
Anxiety sensitivity, or the belief that anxiety-related sensations can have negative consequences, has been shown to play an important role in the etiology and maintenance of panic disorder and other anxiety-related pathology. Aerobic exercise involves exposure to physiological cues similar to those experienced during anxiety reactions. The present...
Disgust sensitivity has recently been implicated as a specific vulnerability factor for several anxiety-related disorders. However, it is not clear whether disgust sensitivity is a dimensional or categorical phenomenon. The present study examined the latent structure of disgust by applying three taxometric procedures (maximum eigenvalue, mean above...
Child sexual assault is a risk factor for a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems. Little is known about mental health functioning in relation to victims' decisions to tell someone (or not) about their assault. This study used data from a nationally representative sample of 4,023 adolescents to examine the relation between sexual assault...
An important focus of recent aggression research has been to identify personality variables that influence the expression of aggression. One such variable may be anxiety sensitivity (AS). Individuals high in AS fear unpleasant anxiety-related physiological sensations and perhaps physiological arousal in general. Accordingly, people high in AS are m...
Current psychiatric nosology depicts posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a discrete diagnostic category. However, only one study has examined the latent structure of PTSD, and this study suggested that PTSD may be more accurately conceptualized as an extreme reaction to traumatic life events rather than a discrete clinical syndrome. To build on...
Responses to target words typically are faster and more accurate after associatively related primes (e.g., "orange-juice") than after unrelated primes (e.g., "glue-juice"). This priming effect has been used as an index of semantic activation, and its elimination often is cited as evidence against semantic access. When participants are asked to perf...
Typescript. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Southern Mississippi, 2005. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-117).
