Imagery Enhanced Cognitive Bias Modification for Chronic Worry
Stopped: No in-person testing is permitted at Ryerson University due to COVID-19.
Canada100 participantsStarted 2019-08-20
Plain-language summary
People who experience high levels of worry often have mental habits that fuel their worry. One mental habit of interest to researchers is the tendency to assess situations and experiences in a very negative way even when it is possible the situation may turn out to be neutral or even positive. Cognitive bias modification of interpretations (CBM-I) is a training that is designed to target the tendency to catastrophize and jump to negative conclusions when faced with ambiguous information. CBM-I has been shown to improve this habit as well as anxiety and low mood. In this experiment, the investigators are looking to enhance CBM-I for pathological worry. Specifically, the investigators are testing the immediate and short-term effects of using imagery when completing CBM-I.
Who can participate
Age range18 Years – 65 Years
SexALL
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Inclusion criteria
✓. Score of 62 or higher on the Penn State Worry Questionnaire.
✓. Endorsement of symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (e.g., excessive and uncontrollable worry) as per the DSM-5 description (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Exclusion criteria
✕. Clinically significant suicidal ideation, intent, or plan
✕. Past or current history of psychosis, bipolar disorder, or substance or alcohol use disorder over the past 12 months
✕. Current psychological treatment or counseling unless this treatment is infrequent (once per month or less) or the participant has been receiving consistent weekly treatment for at least 12 weeks and still meets all other eligibility criteria
✕. Psychotropic medication with a change in dose in the past 12 weeks. If they have recently discontinued a psychotropic medication, they will be included if it has been at least 1 month since discontinuation, or 3 months if they had been taking fluoxetine. Use of benzodiazepines in the past 12 weeks will also exclude participants.
✕. Participants will be excluded if they report noncorrected hearing impairments as the training involves listening to audio recordings.
What they're measuring
1
Change in self-reported past-week worry as measured by the Penn State Worry Questionnaire-Past Week Version
Timeframe: Administered on day 1 prior to completing the intervention (pre-intervention), following the intervention week (post-intervention), and at 1-week and 2-week follow-ups.
2
Change in self-reported interpretation bias as measured by Ambiguous/ Unambiguous Situations Diary Extended
Timeframe: Administered on day 1 prior to completing the intervention (pre-intervention), following the intervention week (post-intervention), and at a 2-week follow-up.