Effectiveness of contact tracing on networks with cliques.

Contact tracing, the practice of isolating individuals who have been in contact with infected individuals, is an effective and practical way of containing disease spread. Here we show that this strategy is particularly effective in the presence of social groups: Once the disease enters a group, contact tracing not only cuts direct infection paths but can also pre-emptively quarantine group members such that it will cut indirect spreading routes. We show these results by using a deliberately stylized model that allows us to isolate the effect of contact tracing within the clique structure of the network where the contagion is spreading. This will enable us to derive mean-field approximations and epidemic thresholds to demonstrate the efficiency of contact tracing in social networks with small groups. This analysis shows that contact tracing in networks with groups is more efficient the larger the groups are. We show how these results can be understood by approximating the combination of disease spreading and contact tracing with a complex contagion process where every failed infection attempt will lead to a lower infection probability in the following attempts. Our results illustrate how contact tracing in real-world settings can be more efficient than predicted by models that treat the system as fully mixed or the network structure as locally treelike.

Multitype branching process method for modeling complex contagion on clustered networks.

Complex contagion adoption dynamics are characterized by a node being more likely to adopt after multiple network neighbors have adopted. We show how to construct multitype branching processes to approximate complex contagion adoption dynamics on networks with clique-based clustering. This involves tracking the evolution of a cascade via different classes of clique motifs that account for the different numbers of active, inactive, and removed nodes. This discrete-time model assumes that active nodes become immediately and certainly removed in the next time step. This description allows for extensive Monte Carlo simulations (which are faster than network-based simulations), accurate analytical calculation of cascade sizes, determination of critical behavior, and other quantities of interest.

Australian Livestock Export Industry Workers' Attitudes toward Animal Welfare.

Understanding live export industry workers' attitudes and beliefs toward animal welfare can provide insight into their decision-making processes and likely behavior. Industry workers (n = 265) with various roles within the supply chain were surveyed from different global regions. Participants were divided into ten categories according to their industry roles and compared using ordinal regression. Respondents were highly likely to have a positive attitude toward animal welfare; the majority of workers enjoyed working with livestock (95.8%) and agreed that livestock should be treated with respect (97.7%). Workers demonstrated a strong understanding of animal welfare concepts, 168 respondents (63.4%) provided examples of ways they had improved animal welfare in their workplace, and 164 workers (61.9%) suggested ways that animal welfare could be improved further. Most workers (95.8%) agreed that animal welfare was satisfactory in their workplace. Five out of the 24 multiple-choice responses differed significantly by the participant's industry role, but no particular group displayed consistently divergent beliefs or attitudes. Given the community concern regarding animals in the livestock export supply chain, it is imperative to understand the attitudes of industry personnel who are responsible for the daily management of the animals. This knowledge assists in the development of animal welfare policy and can inform strategies to manage public perception.

LGBTQ+ based discrimination is associated with ptsd symptoms, dissociation, emotion dysregulation, and attachment insecurity among LGBTQ+ adults who have experienced Trauma.

Objectives: LGBTQ+ based discrimination is a form of insidious trauma and minority stress, and is associated with poor mental health. However, there is a dearth of research on the impact of discrimination on the psychological functioning of LGBTQ+ individuals who have experienced trauma. The current study seeks to remedy this gap. It was hypothesized that: (1) LGBTQ+ adults who perceived their experience of trauma as related to LGBTQ+ based discrimination would have greater attachment insecurity, emotion dysregulation, PTSD symptoms, and dissociative symptoms; (2) experiences of LGBTQ+ based discrimination would be associated with greater attachment insecurity, emotion dysregulation, PTSD symptoms, and dissociative symptoms; (3) transgender congruence (i.e., the extent to which one feels authentic and comfortable with their gender identity and appearance) would be negatively associated with attachment insecurity, emotion dysregulation, PTSD symptoms, and dissociative symptoms. Methods: Participants were 157 LGBTQ+ adults who had experienced trauma, and who completed questionnaires on discrimination and psychological functioning. Results: Compared to participants who did not experience their trauma as related to discrimination, those who did were higher in attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, emotion dysregulation, PTSD, and dissociative symptoms. Biphobia was positively associated with attachment anxiety, emotion dysregulation, PTSD, and dissociative symptoms. Homophobia was positively associated with emotion dysregulation, PTSD, and dissociative symptoms. Transphobia was positively associated with PTSD and dissociative symptoms. Appearance congruence was negatively associated with emotion dysregulation, PTSD, and dissociative symptoms. Conclusions: When working with LGBTQ+ clients who have experienced trauma, clinicians should be mindful of the effects of discrimination on wellbeing.

Momentary predictors of binge eating: An attachment perspective.

INTRODUCTION: According to attachment theory, individuals who are preoccupied with the possibility of rejection are prone to emotion dysregulation, which research has found to be related to disordered eating. The current study examined naturalistic momentary relationships between binge eating, depressive symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and attachment anxiety. METHOD: Participants were 55 undergraduate women who owned a mobile phone and who had binge eaten at least once during the past 28 days. All participants were screened to confirm the presence of binge eating and then completed trait measures of attachment anxiety. Participants then received seven text messages per day for 14 days. Texts contained links to state measures of depressive symptoms, state emotion dysregulation, and recent binge eating. RESULTS: Momentary depressive symptoms predicted subsequent binge eating. Aspects of emotion dysregulation (i.e., nonacceptance of emotional responses and difficulty modulating one's emotions) mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and binge eating. DISCUSSION: Depressed mood often triggers binge eating. Additionally, attachment anxiety seems to predict binge eating through emotion dysregulation. Interventions for binge eating should address both attachment anxiety and emotion dysregulation in order to maximize therapeutic benefit.

Changes in attachment organization, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal problems among women in treatment for abuse.

OBJECTIVE: Women who have experienced childhood abuse often have interpersonal difficulties. The current study examines whether changes in emotion dysregulation mediate the relationship between changes in attachment patterns and changes in interpersonal problems among women who completed treatment for the sequelae of childhood abuse. METHOD: Participants were 36 women who completed a program targeting the psychological consequences of childhood maltreatment. At pre-and posttreatment, participants completed a projective assessment of adult attachment, and self-report measures of emotion dysregulation and interpersonal problems. RESULTS: Changes in emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between shifts toward resolved attachment and changes in interpersonal problems. Compared to participants who maintained their pretreatment attachment patterns, those who shifted toward a resolved pattern became significantly more able to clarify and describe their emotions. Improvements in these abilities were associated with decreased problems with being nonassertive, overly accommodating, self-sacrificing, and socially inhibited. Additionally, improvements in emotional clarity uniquely mediated the relationship between shifts to resolved attachment and reductions in problems with being domineering and intrusive. Moreover, decreased difficulty describing feelings uniquely mediated the relationship between shifts to resolved attachment and decreases in problems with being cold. CONCLUSIONS: Among women who complete treatment for the sequelae of childhood abuse, shifts to resolved attachment were indirectly related to decreases in interpersonal problems through improved emotional processing.

Effects of anti-obesity messages on women's body image and eating behaviour.

OBJECTIVES: It has been suggested that obesity stigmatization contributes to negative mental health outcomes, particularly among overweight individuals. This study examined the effects of exposure to media-portrayed anti-obesity messages on women's state self-esteem, body esteem, and food intake. It was hypothesized that exposure to anti-obesity messages would result in decreased state self-esteem and body esteem and in increased food intake, and that these effects would be more pronounced in individuals with either higher BMI or stronger perceived pressure to be thin. METHOD: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions in which they either: read a fictitious media article containing either anti-obesity messages or non-obesity-related health messages, or completed a neutral control task (word search). State self-esteem and body esteem were measured before and after the manipulation. Participants also completed a candy taste rating task and ad lib consumption was surreptitiously measured. RESULTS: There was no main effect of condition on either psychological outcome variable or on grams consumed. Higher perceived sociocultural pressure to be thin was associated with a decrease in body esteem after reading the anti-obesity article only. Having a higher BMI was associated with greater candy intake in the word search condition. This trend was also apparent in the sun exposure condition, but not in the anti-obesity condition. DISCUSSION: Exposure to anti-obesity messages appears to decrease weight-related body esteem in women who already feel strong pressure to be thin, and may lead heavier women to suppress their food intake.

Binge eating in bariatric surgery candidates: The role of insecure attachment and emotion regulation.

Binge eating has a high prevalence among bariatric patients and is associated with post-surgical weight gain. This study examined the potential mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relation between attachment insecurity and binge eating among this population. Participants were 1388 adult pre-bariatric surgery candidates from an accredited bariatric surgery assessment centre in Toronto, Ontario. Participants completed measures of psychological functioning, including attachment style and emotion regulation. Mediation analyses revealed that difficulties with emotion regulation mediated a positive association between insecure-anxious attachment and binge eating. An insecure-avoidant attachment was found to have a non-significant association with binge eating when examining the total effect. However, when difficulties with emotion regulation were controlled for in the model to examine its role as a mediator, this association became significant, and emotion regulation difficulties also mediated the relationship between attachment avoidance and binge eating. These findings suggest that difficulties in emotion regulation may be an important clinical issue to address in order to reduce binge eating in adult bariatric surgery candidates.

Pre-treatment attachment anxiety predicts change in depressive symptoms in women who complete day hospital treatment for anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

OBJECTIVES: Individuals with eating disorders are prone to depressive symptoms. This study examines whether depressive symptoms can change in women who complete intensive day treatment for anorexia and bulimia nervosa (BN), and whether these changes are associated with pre-treatment attachment insecurity. DESIGN: Participants were 141 women with anorexia nervosa restricting type (n = 24), anorexia nervosa binge purge type (n = 30), and BN (n = 87) who completed a day hospital treatment programme for eating disorders. They completed a pre-treatment self-report measure of attachment, and a pre-treatment and post-treatment self-report measure of depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Participants experienced significant reductions in depressive symptoms at post-treatment. Eating disorder diagnosis was not related to these improvements. However, participants lower in attachment anxiety experienced significantly greater improvement in depressive symptoms than those who were higher in attachment anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that clinicians may tailor eating disorders treatments to patients' attachment patterns and focus on their pre-occupation with relationships and affect regulation to improve depressive symptoms. PRACTITIONER POINTS: That depressive symptoms can decrease in women who complete day hospital treatment for anorexia and BN. That improvements in depressive symptoms do not vary according to eating disorder diagnosis in these women. That patients who complete treatment and who have higher attachment anxiety experience less improvements in depressive symptoms compared to those lower in attachment anxiety. That clinicians may attend to aspects of attachment anxiety, such as need for approval and up-regulation of emotions, to improve depressive symptoms in female patients with eating disorders.

A Randomized controlled trial of motivational interviewing + self-help versus psychoeducation + self-help for binge eating.

OBJECTIVE: Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative therapy that focuses on strengthening a person's internal motivation to change. Research suggests that MI may be helpful for treating binge eating; however, findings are limited and little is known about how MI for binge eating compares to active therapy controls. The present study aimed to build on current research by comparing MI as a prelude to self-help treatment for binge eating with psychoeducation as a prelude to self-help treatment for binge eating. METHOD: Participants with full or subthreshold DSM-IV Binge Eating Disorder or nonpurging Bulimia Nervosa were randomly assigned to receive either 60 minutes of MI followed by a self-help manual (n = 24) or 60 minutes of psychoeducation followed by a self-help manual (n = 21). Questionnaires were completed pre- and postsession, and at 1 and 4 months postsession. RESULTS: MI significantly increased readiness to change and confidence in ability to control binge eating, whereas psychoeducation did not. No group differences were found when changes in eating disorder attitudes and behaviors were examined. DISCUSSION: MI offers benefits for increasing motivation and self-efficacy. However, it may not be a uniquely effective treatment approach for reducing binge eating.

Change in attachment to the therapy group generalizes to change in individual attachment among women with binge eating disorder.

Attachment to groups is analogous to attachment to individuals, and may play an important role in group functioning and in group psychotherapy outcomes. This study examined whether attachment to the therapy group can change during treatment, and whether such change predicts improvements in treatment outcomes, including individual attachment, up to 1 year posttreatment. Eighty-seven women with binge eating disorder (BED) attended Group Psychodynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy (GPIP). Participants were assigned to one of two conditions in which groups were homogeneously composed of women with either higher or lower individual attachment anxiety. Outcomes were assessed pre, post, 6 months, and 1 year posttreatment. Attachment to the group was assessed at weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16 of GPIP. Group attachment insecurity decreased significantly during treatment. Reductions in group attachment avoidance predicted decreases in individual attachment insecurity at 1 year posttreatment. Study condition did not moderate these associations. These results indicate that women with BED who receive GPIP are able to generalize improvements in group attachment security to their individual attachment relationships outside of therapy up to 1 year post group treatment.

Structural relationships among attachment insecurity, alexithymia, and body esteem in women with eating disorders.

Patients with eating disorders tend to experience low levels of body esteem. To assess the psychosocial processes that may predict low body esteem in these individuals, we assessed the structural interrelations among attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, alexithymia, and body esteem in a cross-sectional sample of patients with eating disorders. We tested a model in which alexithymia mediates the relationship between attachment insecurity and body esteem. Participants were 300 women with anorexia nervosa (n = 109), bulimia nervosa (n = 130), and eating disorders not otherwise specified (n = 61) who completed pretreatment self-report questionnaires at intake for a day hospital treatment program. We found a direct and negative relationship between attachment anxiety and body esteem. Additionally, attachment avoidance had an indirect negative relationship to body esteem through alexithymia. These results indicate that therapists may attend to attachment insecurity and affective regulation strategies when addressing body image issues in patients with eating disorders.

Matching women with binge eating disorder to group treatment based on attachment anxiety: outcomes and moderating effects.

We hypothesized that compared to therapy groups homogeneously composed of women with binge eating disorder (BED) and low attachment anxiety, groups with high attachment anxiety would have better outcomes and a greater alliance-outcome relationship. We assigned 102 women with BED to therapy groups homogeneously composed of low attachment anxiety (n =52) or high attachment anxiety participants (n=50) who received Group Psychodynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy (GPIP). GPIP resulted in improved outcomes with large effects. Attachment anxiety condition did not moderate outcomes. However, attachment anxiety condition did moderate the alliance-outcome relationship: i.e., group alliance growth was associated with improved binge eating only in the high attachment anxiety condition. Clinicians should be attentive to and encourage the growth of group therapy alliance especially for anxiously attached individuals.

Predictors of treatment acceptance and of participation in a randomized controlled trial among women with anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify predictors of acceptance of intensive treatment and of participation in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) among women with anorexia nervosa (AN). METHOD: Participant data were drawn from a tertiary care intensive treatment programme including a previously published RCT. Women with AN (N = 106) were offered intensive treatment, and 69 were approached to participate in an RCT of olanzapine's efficacy as an adjunctive treatment for AN. AN subtype and pretreatment psychological variables were used to predict acceptance of intensive treatment and RCT participation. RESULTS: AN binge purge subtype and higher depression and body dissatisfaction predicted intensive treatment acceptance. No variable predicted RCT participation among treatment acceptors. DISCUSSION: Clinicians may focus on enhancing motivation or use a stepped care approach to increase intensive treatment acceptance especially among women with AN-restricting type and among all those with AN who have lower levels of distress.