Journal
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Volume 7, Issue 4, Pages 794-810Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/2167702619827019
Keywords
worry; contrast avoidance; generalized anxiety disorder
Categories
Funding
- Pennsylvania State University Social Science Research Institute
- National Science Foundation [1110970]
- Div Of Information & Intelligent Systems
- Direct For Computer & Info Scie & Enginr [1110970] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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The contrast avoidance model (CAM) suggests that worry increases and sustains negative emotion to prevent a negative emotional contrast (sharp upward shift in negative emotion) and increase the probability of a positive contrast (shift toward positive emotion). In Study 1, we experimentally validated momentary assessment items (N = 25). In Study 2, participants with generalized anxiety disorder (N = 31) and controls (N = 37) were prompted once per hour regarding their worry, thought valence, and arousal 10 times a day for 8 days. Higher worry duration, negative thought valence, and uncontrollable train of thoughts predicted feeling more keyed up concurrently and sustained anxious activation 1 hr later. More worry, feeling keyed up, and uncontrollable train of thoughts predicted lower likelihood of a negative emotional contrast in thought valence and higher likelihood of a positive emotional contrast in thought valence 1 hr later. Findings support the prospective ecological validity of CAM. Our findings suggest that naturalistic worry reduces the likelihood of a sharp increase in negative affect and does so by increasing and sustaining anxious activation.
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