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07-08-2023 | Original Article

Avoidant Automatic Thoughts are Associated with Task Avoidance and Inattention in the Moment

Auteurs: Laura E. Knouse, Mamie Ziegler, Ilana Lavine, Junming Zhang, Yixue Cheng, Hoor Ul Ain

Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research

Abstract

Purpose

Research and clinical attention in psychology has focused heavily on negative automatic thoughts and their role in symptoms of psychopathology and maladaptive behavior; however, the role of thoughts that appear to be overly positive in content has received much less attention. Recent work in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has identified overly positive thoughts that may be associated with avoidance and functional impairment.

Method

We defined, described, and measured Avoidant Automatic Thoughts (AAT) in the daily lives of 101 undergraduate students using ecological momentary assessment and tested hypotheses about the association of these thoughts with ADHD symptoms and in-the-moment avoidance and negative emotion. Data were collected at baseline and up to three times per day for six days and analyzed using multilevel modeling.

Results

We found that AAT were frequent daily occurrences for the undergraduates in our sample and that recent presence of AAT was associated with greater task avoidance and inattentive symptoms at the momentary level. AAT were not, however, associated with momentary negative emotion. Participants’ general level of ADHD symptoms predicted greater momentary AAT, task avoidance, negative emotion and negative thoughts and less positive emotion.

Conclusions

This study introduces AAT as a construct with potential research and clinical utility for understanding, predicting, and intervening in problematic avoidance behaviors that reduce people’s quality of life and prevent them from reaching their meaningful goals.

By spontaneous we are not implying that automatic thoughts arise without any perceived relevance to current experience or the task at hand, which is how the term spontaneous is sometimes used in literature on the neuroscience of thought (e.g., Christoff et al., 2016).

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Titel: Avoidant Automatic Thoughts are Associated with Task Avoidance and Inattention in the Moment
Auteurs: Laura E. Knouse
Mamie Ziegler
Ilana Lavine
Junming Zhang
Yixue Cheng
Hoor Ul Ain
Publicatiedatum: 07-08-2023
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research
Print ISSN: 0147-5916
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2819
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10410-8

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

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Abstract

Purpose

Method

Results

Conclusions

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