New Research From Clinical Psychological Science

Can Text Messages Identify Suicide Risk in Real Time? A Within-Subjects Pilot Examination of Temporally Sensitive Markers of Suicide Risk
Jeffrey J. Glenn, Alicia L. Nobles, Laura E. Barnes, and Bethany A. Teachman

Text messages may prove real-time markers of suicide risk and be used to develop effective ways to prevent future suicide-related behaviors, this research suggests. Individuals with a history of suicide attempt reported past attempts and periods of lower risk, and they provided the text messages they had stored in their mobile devices during those periods. Glenn and colleagues used language-analysis software and found that, in the text messages, these individuals’ anger increased and positive emotion decreased to a greater extent as they approached a suicide attempt compared with when they were at lower suicide risk.

Self-Triggering? An Exploration of Individuals Who Seek Reminders of Trauma
Benjamin W. Bellet, Payton J. Jones, and Richard J. McNally

Some individuals who experienced trauma tend to seek reminders of their traumatic events, a phenomenon known as self-triggering. In two studies, Bellet and colleagues collected data from participants in trauma and mental health-related online forums and found that those who self-triggered more were more likely to report severe symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Self-triggering became compulsive for some participants, and those with a high desire to understand their trauma were likely to engage in self-triggering more frequently. Thus, helping trauma survivors accept that they may never understand their traumatic events might help reduce their PTSD symptoms.

Helping or Harming? The Effect of Trigger Warnings on Individuals With Trauma Histories
Payton J. Jones, Benjamin W. Bellet, and Richard J. McNally

Trigger warnings provide notification about forthcoming content that may cause distress, but they may have no benefits and even cause adverse side effects in trauma survivors, this research suggests. People who had experienced trauma (e.g., serious injury, sexual violence) in the past and received trigger warnings before reading distressing passages were equally affected by the passages as those who had not received trigger warnings. Moreover, trigger warnings reinforced participants’ belief that their trauma was a central part of their identity.

Is Parental Burnout Distinct From Job Burnout and Depressive Symptoms?
Moïra Mikolajczak, James J. Gross, Florence Stinglhamber, Annika Lindahl Norberg, and Isabelle Roskam

To distinguish parental burnout from job burnout, Mikolajczak and colleagues surveyed participants about their emotional exhaustion, emotional distancing and cynicism/detachment, and feelings of inefficacy regarding both their parental role and their job. Parental burnout appeared to be distinct from job burnout. Although job and parental burnout and depressive symptoms had some common consequences (e.g., problematic alcohol use, disordered sleep, and somatic complaints, such as migraines), parental burnout was associated with the outcomes of parental neglect and violence toward the children, whereas job burnout was associated with intent to leave the job. Depressive symptoms did not explain these specific burnout outcomes.

Preoccupied and Dismissing Attachment Representations Are Differentially Associated With Anxiety in Adolescence and Adulthood: A Meta-Analysis
Or Dagan, Christopher R. Facompré, Marissa D. Nivison, Glenn I. Roisman, and Kristin Bernard

Dagan and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to examine the association between insecure attachment and anxiety. They found that individuals with secure and insecure attachment reported similar levels of anxiety symptoms. However, individuals with preoccupied attachment (i.e., those who hyperactivate negative past experiences with their caregivers) reported more anxiety symptoms than those with secure or dismissing attachment (i.e., those who turn away from negative past experiences with their caregivers). Preoccupied attachment also led unresolved individuals to report more anxiety than resolved individuals. These findings suggest that addressing attachment type may help to create better interventions targeting anxiety.