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1.
Visco-Comandini, Federica; Gragnani, Andrea; Giacomantonio, Mauro; Romano, Giuseppe; Petrucci, Manuel; Mancini, Francesco
Depression in the Mirror: Depression Severity and Its Link to Negative Judgments of Symptoms Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 12, 2021.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tag: depression, depressive symptoms, dysfunctional beliefs, meta-emotional problem, non-clinical population
@article{Visco-Comandini2021,
title = {Depression in the Mirror: Depression Severity and Its Link to Negative Judgments of Symptoms},
author = {Federica Visco-Comandini and Andrea Gragnani and Mauro Giacomantonio and Giuseppe Romano and Manuel Petrucci and Francesco Mancini},
editor = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
url = {https://apc.it/2021-mancini-depression-in-the-mirror-visco/},
doi = {doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.621282},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-07-23},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
volume = {12},
abstract = {Background and Objectives: Depressive states represent a normal and physiological response to the experience of loss. However, it is possible to identify some elements that allow distinguishing physiological depressive states from pathological ones. Over the years, research has confirmed that a stable tendency to negative self-evaluation is a transdiagnostic factor that triggers and amplifies dysfunctional emotional reactivity, thus contributing to the shift from normal to pathological reaction. In this sense, the secondary problem, or meta-emotional problem, referring to the negative evaluation of one’s depressive state and the consequent dysfunctional attempts to solve it, seems to play an important role. The aim of the present study is to investigate how dysfunctional beliefs and the evaluations of depressive symptoms (meta-emotional problems) are
related to depression severity.
Methods: We asked to a community sample to focus on the depressive symptoms they regard as most distressful and evaluate them through specific questionnaires. One-hundred and eighty nine participants were asked to complete a set of
questionnaires: (1) the Meta-Emotional Problem Questionnaire; (2) the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; (3) the Beck Depression Inventory; (4) the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale-24 in order to investigate the relation between dysfunctional beliefs, meta-emotional problems, and depressive symptoms severity.
Results: Our results show that higher levels of depression are associated both to more pervasive dysfunctional attitudes and increased evaluation of meta-emotional problem. In addition, we conduct a regression analysis to disentangle the impact of the two different measures of depressive symptoms (i.e., BDI-II and CES-D) with two explanatory variables (dysfunctional attitudes and meta-emotional problem). Results show that meta-emotional problem remains a significant and robust predictor of the severity of depressive symptomatology, while dysfunctional beliefs has a rather weak and non-significant
relation with the criterion. In other words, meta-emotional problem consistently explains the higher variance of depressive symptoms than dysfunctional beliefs. In conclusion our study shows a clear link between meta-emotional problem and depression severity. This is relevant for clinical practice, as it highlights the importance of specifically targeting beliefs about the depressive condition in cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression, since they represent crucial factors maintaining depressive symptomatologies},
keywords = {depression, depressive symptoms, dysfunctional beliefs, meta-emotional problem, non-clinical population},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Background and Objectives: Depressive states represent a normal and physiological response to the experience of loss. However, it is possible to identify some elements that allow distinguishing physiological depressive states from pathological ones. Over the years, research has confirmed that a stable tendency to negative self-evaluation is a transdiagnostic factor that triggers and amplifies dysfunctional emotional reactivity, thus contributing to the shift from normal to pathological reaction. In this sense, the secondary problem, or meta-emotional problem, referring to the negative evaluation of one’s depressive state and the consequent dysfunctional attempts to solve it, seems to play an important role. The aim of the present study is to investigate how dysfunctional beliefs and the evaluations of depressive symptoms (meta-emotional problems) are
related to depression severity.
Methods: We asked to a community sample to focus on the depressive symptoms they regard as most distressful and evaluate them through specific questionnaires. One-hundred and eighty nine participants were asked to complete a set of
questionnaires: (1) the Meta-Emotional Problem Questionnaire; (2) the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; (3) the Beck Depression Inventory; (4) the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale-24 in order to investigate the relation between dysfunctional beliefs, meta-emotional problems, and depressive symptoms severity.
Results: Our results show that higher levels of depression are associated both to more pervasive dysfunctional attitudes and increased evaluation of meta-emotional problem. In addition, we conduct a regression analysis to disentangle the impact of the two different measures of depressive symptoms (i.e., BDI-II and CES-D) with two explanatory variables (dysfunctional attitudes and meta-emotional problem). Results show that meta-emotional problem remains a significant and robust predictor of the severity of depressive symptomatology, while dysfunctional beliefs has a rather weak and non-significant
relation with the criterion. In other words, meta-emotional problem consistently explains the higher variance of depressive symptoms than dysfunctional beliefs. In conclusion our study shows a clear link between meta-emotional problem and depression severity. This is relevant for clinical practice, as it highlights the importance of specifically targeting beliefs about the depressive condition in cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression, since they represent crucial factors maintaining depressive symptomatologies
related to depression severity.
Methods: We asked to a community sample to focus on the depressive symptoms they regard as most distressful and evaluate them through specific questionnaires. One-hundred and eighty nine participants were asked to complete a set of
questionnaires: (1) the Meta-Emotional Problem Questionnaire; (2) the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; (3) the Beck Depression Inventory; (4) the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale-24 in order to investigate the relation between dysfunctional beliefs, meta-emotional problems, and depressive symptoms severity.
Results: Our results show that higher levels of depression are associated both to more pervasive dysfunctional attitudes and increased evaluation of meta-emotional problem. In addition, we conduct a regression analysis to disentangle the impact of the two different measures of depressive symptoms (i.e., BDI-II and CES-D) with two explanatory variables (dysfunctional attitudes and meta-emotional problem). Results show that meta-emotional problem remains a significant and robust predictor of the severity of depressive symptomatology, while dysfunctional beliefs has a rather weak and non-significant
relation with the criterion. In other words, meta-emotional problem consistently explains the higher variance of depressive symptoms than dysfunctional beliefs. In conclusion our study shows a clear link between meta-emotional problem and depression severity. This is relevant for clinical practice, as it highlights the importance of specifically targeting beliefs about the depressive condition in cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression, since they represent crucial factors maintaining depressive symptomatologies
2.
Mancini, Alessandra; Mancini, Francesco
Rescripting Memory, Redefining the Self: A Meta-Emotional Perspective on the Hypothesized Mechanism(s) of Imagery Rescripting Journal Article
In: frontiers in Psychology, vol. 9, no 581, 2018.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tag: autobiographical memory, emotional invalidation, imagery rescripting, meta-emotional problem, psychopathology, secondary problem, self-rapresentation
@article{Mancini2018,
title = {Rescripting Memory, Redefining the Self: A Meta-Emotional Perspective on the Hypothesized Mechanism(s) of Imagery Rescripting},
author = {Alessandra Mancini and Francesco Mancini},
editor = {frontiers in Psychology},
url = {https://apc.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-Rescripting-Memory-Mancini-A.-Mancini-F..pdf},
doi = {doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00581},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-04-20},
journal = {frontiers in Psychology},
volume = {9},
number = {581},
abstract = {Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) is a therapeutic technique that aims to reduce the distress associated with negative memories of early aversive experiences. It consists of prompting patients to rescript the autobiographical memory in line with their unmet needs. In recent years, ImRs was found effective in reducing symptoms of disorders such as depression, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and personality disorders. However, the cognitive mechanisms underlying such broad effectiveness are currently an object of debate.
Empirical evidence has shown that ImRs reduces the negative self-belief derived from aversive memories in different types of mental disorders. However, existing accounts are not very accurate in explaining how this change in self-belief occurs and therefore why ImRs is effective across psychopathologies. We propose that ImRs changes the semantic self-representation encapsulated in the aversive memory by reducing the meta-emotional problem (i.e., perceiving a negative emotion as problematic and unacceptable). Empirical evidence implicates the meta-emotional problem or “secondary problem” in the maintenance of different disorders and has shown that treating it leads to symptoms reduction. Here we hypothesize that: (i) ImRs as a standalone treatment may lead to a reduction of symptoms; negative self-belief and the meta-emotional problem; and (ii) the reduction of the meta-emotional problem might mediate the relation between symptoms and negative self-belief reduction. To test our hypothesis, we present an experimental procedure that could be used in future studies. We conclude discussing the existing theoretical frameworks that attempt to unravel the mechanisms that play a role in ImRs.
},
keywords = {autobiographical memory, emotional invalidation, imagery rescripting, meta-emotional problem, psychopathology, secondary problem, self-rapresentation},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) is a therapeutic technique that aims to reduce the distress associated with negative memories of early aversive experiences. It consists of prompting patients to rescript the autobiographical memory in line with their unmet needs. In recent years, ImRs was found effective in reducing symptoms of disorders such as depression, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and personality disorders. However, the cognitive mechanisms underlying such broad effectiveness are currently an object of debate.
Empirical evidence has shown that ImRs reduces the negative self-belief derived from aversive memories in different types of mental disorders. However, existing accounts are not very accurate in explaining how this change in self-belief occurs and therefore why ImRs is effective across psychopathologies. We propose that ImRs changes the semantic self-representation encapsulated in the aversive memory by reducing the meta-emotional problem (i.e., perceiving a negative emotion as problematic and unacceptable). Empirical evidence implicates the meta-emotional problem or “secondary problem” in the maintenance of different disorders and has shown that treating it leads to symptoms reduction. Here we hypothesize that: (i) ImRs as a standalone treatment may lead to a reduction of symptoms; negative self-belief and the meta-emotional problem; and (ii) the reduction of the meta-emotional problem might mediate the relation between symptoms and negative self-belief reduction. To test our hypothesis, we present an experimental procedure that could be used in future studies. We conclude discussing the existing theoretical frameworks that attempt to unravel the mechanisms that play a role in ImRs.
Empirical evidence has shown that ImRs reduces the negative self-belief derived from aversive memories in different types of mental disorders. However, existing accounts are not very accurate in explaining how this change in self-belief occurs and therefore why ImRs is effective across psychopathologies. We propose that ImRs changes the semantic self-representation encapsulated in the aversive memory by reducing the meta-emotional problem (i.e., perceiving a negative emotion as problematic and unacceptable). Empirical evidence implicates the meta-emotional problem or “secondary problem” in the maintenance of different disorders and has shown that treating it leads to symptoms reduction. Here we hypothesize that: (i) ImRs as a standalone treatment may lead to a reduction of symptoms; negative self-belief and the meta-emotional problem; and (ii) the reduction of the meta-emotional problem might mediate the relation between symptoms and negative self-belief reduction. To test our hypothesis, we present an experimental procedure that could be used in future studies. We conclude discussing the existing theoretical frameworks that attempt to unravel the mechanisms that play a role in ImRs.
3.
Couyoumdjian, Alessandro; Ottaviani, Cristina; Petrocchi, Nicola; Trincas, Roberta; Tenore, Katia; Buonanno, Carlo; Mancini, Francesco
Reducing the meta-emotional problem decreases physiological fear response during exposure in phobics Journal Article
In: Frontiers in psychology, no 7, pp. 1105, 2016, ISSN: 1664-1078.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tag: autonomic nervous system, double standard, Heart rate, Heart rate variability, meta-emotional problem, phobic stimuli, self-criticism, specific phobia
@article{Couyoumdjian2016,
title = { Reducing the meta-emotional problem decreases physiological fear response during exposure in phobics},
author = {Alessandro Couyoumdjian and Cristina Ottaviani and Nicola Petrocchi and Roberta Trincas and Katia Tenore and Carlo Buonanno and Francesco Mancini},
editor = {Martial Mermillod},
url = {https://apc.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fpsyg-07-01105.pdf},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01105},
issn = {1664-1078},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-07-25},
issuetitle = {Original Research},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
number = {7},
pages = {1105},
abstract = {Anxiety disorders may not only be characterized by specific symptomatology (e.g., tachycardia) in response to the fearful stimulus (primary problem or first-level emotion) but also by the tendency to negatively evaluate oneself for having those symptoms (secondary problem or negative meta-emotion). An exploratory study was conducted driven by the hypothesis that reducing the secondary or meta-emotional problem would also diminish the fear response to the phobic stimulus. Thirty-three phobic participants were exposed to the phobic target before and after undergoing a psychotherapeutic intervention addressed to reduce the meta-emotional problem or a control condition. The electrocardiogram was continuously recorded to derive heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) and affect ratings were obtained. Addressing the meta-emotional problem had the effect of reducing the physiological but not the subjective symptoms of anxiety after phobic exposure. Preliminary findings support the role of the meta-emotional problem in the maintenance of response to the fearful stimulus (primary problem).},
keywords = {autonomic nervous system, double standard, Heart rate, Heart rate variability, meta-emotional problem, phobic stimuli, self-criticism, specific phobia},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Anxiety disorders may not only be characterized by specific symptomatology (e.g., tachycardia) in response to the fearful stimulus (primary problem or first-level emotion) but also by the tendency to negatively evaluate oneself for having those symptoms (secondary problem or negative meta-emotion). An exploratory study was conducted driven by the hypothesis that reducing the secondary or meta-emotional problem would also diminish the fear response to the phobic stimulus. Thirty-three phobic participants were exposed to the phobic target before and after undergoing a psychotherapeutic intervention addressed to reduce the meta-emotional problem or a control condition. The electrocardiogram was continuously recorded to derive heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) and affect ratings were obtained. Addressing the meta-emotional problem had the effect of reducing the physiological but not the subjective symptoms of anxiety after phobic exposure. Preliminary findings support the role of the meta-emotional problem in the maintenance of response to the fearful stimulus (primary problem).