Objective: Adult attachment has been suggested to mediate the effect of social support on stress protection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of adult attachment and social support on psychological and endocrine responses to psychosocial stress.Methods: Sixty-three healthy men who were married or cohabiting were randomly assigned to receive either instructed social support from their partner or no social support before being exposed to a standardized psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Attachment was determined using the Experiences in Close Relationships -Revised questionnaire (ECR-R). State anxiety, mood, and salivary cortisol levels were repeatedly assessed before and after stress.Results: Secure attachment was associated with stronger decreases in state anxiety levels following stress exposure. More importantly, the combination of social support and secure attachment exhibited the lowest anxiety levels after stress (interaction effect). Social support alone reduced cortisol responses to stress, whereas secure attachment did not influence cortisol concentrations.Conclusion: This first study on the interaction of adult attachment and social support in terms of psychological and endocrine stress responses concurs with previous studies suggesting an important protective role of attachment for psychological stress responsiveness. However, attachment did not directly moderate cortisol responses to acute stress. ABSTRACT Objective:Adult attachment has been suggested to mediate the effect of social support on stress protection.The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of adult attachment and social support on psychological and endocrine responses to psychosocial stress. Methods:Sixty-three healthy men who were married or cohabiting were randomly assigned to receive either instructed social support from their partner or no social support before being exposed to a standardized psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Attachment was determined using the Experiences in Close Relationships -Revised questionnaire (ECR-R). State anxiety, mood, and salivary cortisol levels were repeatedly assessed before and after stress. Results:Secure attachment was associated with stronger decreases in state anxiety levels following stress exposure. More importantly, the combination of social support and secure attachment exhibited the lowest anxiety levels after stress (interaction effect). Social support alone reduced cortisol responses to stress, whereas secure attachment did not influence cortisol concentrations. Conclusion:This first study on the interaction of adult attachment and social support in terms of psychological and endocrine stress responses concurs with previous studies suggesting an important protective role of attachment for psychological stress responsiveness. However, attachment did not directly moderate cortisol responses to acute stress.

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Exaggerated anticipatory anxiety during expectation of performance-related situations is an important feature of the psychopathology of social anxiety disorder (SAD). The neural basis of anticipatory anxiety in SAD has not been investigated in controlled studies. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates during the anticipation of public and evaluated speaking vs a control condition in 17 SAD patients and 17 healthy control subjects. FMRI results show increased activation of the insula and decreased activation of the ventral striatum in SAD patients, compared to control subjects during anticipation of a speech vs the control condition. In addition, an activation of the amygdala in SAD patients during the first half of the anticipation phase in the speech condition was observed. Finally, the amount of anticipatory anxiety of SAD patients was negatively correlated to the activation of the ventral striatum. This suggests an association between incentive function, motivation and anticipatory anxiety when SAD patients expect a performance situation.

The effectiveness of inpatient group therapy was estimated in a meta-analysis of 24 controlled and 46 studies with pre-post-measures published between 1980 and 2004. Diagnosis, theoretical orientation and the role of the group in the particular treatment setting were used to examine differential effectiveness. Beneficial effects were found for inpatient group therapy in controlled studies (d ϭ 0.31) as well as in the studies with pre-post-data (d ϭ 0.59). Differences in the homogeneity of patient improvement effect sizes were found across different diagnostic categories. Furthermore, greater improvement was exhibited in mood disorder patients when compared to mixed, psychosomatic, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenic patients replicating recent findings from meta-analyses of outpatient group treatment. A comparison between controlled studies and pre-post-measure studies indicated no improvement for waitlist patients which contradicts previous reports. Implications for therapy and future research are discussed within the context of methodical considerations.

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Objective: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threatened not only people’s physical health but also every aspect of their psychological well-being: from their struggle to avoid contracting the disease, to their coping with the disruption of the normal course of their lives, to the trauma they endured when the virus took the lives of those they loved. The objective of this article is to consider the group-level processes that sustain people’s physical and psychological well-being during COVID-19. Method: Applying group dynamic and group therapy theory and research, we explore why COVID-19 spread so rapidly. We also explore how people cope with prolonged social isolation, distress, and social inequities, as well as how people deal with the psychological trauma of the disease, which includes heightened levels of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and complicated bereavement. Results: Researchers and theorists suggest that human beings are fundamentally social, and the need to gather with others is extremely important, especially during times of distress. The need to belong as well as the importance of reducing loneliness during uncertain times often encourages people to connect, despite recommendations to remain socially distant. Conclusions: Group treatment options developed by group psychotherapists are effective at reducing depression, anxiety, complicated grief, and stress. We conclude by examining the growing impact of online groups and the many ways that these groups help people improve their psychological well-being during the COVID-19 crisis.

This article applies and illustrates the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA) revised CORE battery to daily practice. The CORE can assist practitioners in periodically or continuously monitoring outcome and process factors to determine patient status (e.g., improved, deteriorated, or no change), and ruptures in the therapeutic relationships. The CORE-R provides group therapists with a tool kit of measures for assessing the effectiveness of their groups and includes three classes of measures: selection, process, and outcome. We provide a summary of each class of measures along with specific instruments.

Zusammenfassung. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Entwicklung, Validierung und Normierung der Kurzform des Inventars zur Erfassung interpersonaler Probleme (IIP-32) dargestellt. Anhand einer per Zufall gezogenen Teilstichprobe (N = 996) einer repräsentativen Bevölkerungsstichprobe wurden entlang der 8 Skalen des IIP 32 Items nach ihren psychometrischen Eigenschaften und Circumplexkriterien ausgewählt. Zwei nicht klinische (N1 = 1000, N2 = 1054) sowie zwei klinische Stichproben (Nklin1 = 245, Nklin2 = 305) dienten der Überprüfung der psychometrischen und circumplexbezogenen Item- und Skalenparameter sowie der konfirmatorischen Prüfung des Instruments. Zudem wurde das IIP-32 im Rahmen einer bevölkerungsrepräsentativen Befragung an 2115 Personen im Alter von 14 bis 98 Jahren bundesweit normiert. Die Kurzform erweist sich als ein der Langform weitgehend vergleichbares Instrument und empfiehlt sich sowohl für den Einsatz in klinischen als auch in nicht klinischen Studien.