The relationship between perseverative thinking, proactive control, and inhibition in psychological distress: a study in a women’s cohort
Abstract Cognitive control is a core feature of several mental disorders. A recent account poses that health problems may derive from proactive forms of cognitive control that maintain stress representation over time. The working hypothesis of the present study is that psychological distress is caus...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46713-9 |
| _version_ | 1797630233472401408 |
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| author | Lorenzo Mattioni Marcantonio M. Spada Francesca Ferri Carlo Sestieri |
| author_facet | Lorenzo Mattioni Marcantonio M. Spada Francesca Ferri Carlo Sestieri |
| author_sort | Lorenzo Mattioni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Cognitive control is a core feature of several mental disorders. A recent account poses that health problems may derive from proactive forms of cognitive control that maintain stress representation over time. The working hypothesis of the present study is that psychological distress is caused by the tendency to select a particular maladaptive self-regulation strategy over time, namely perseverative thinking, rather than by transient stimulus–response patterns. To test this hypothesis, we asked 84 women to carry out a battery of standardized questionnaires regarding their tendency to undertake perseverative thinking and their level of psychological distress, followed by cognitive tasks measuring the tendency to use proactive versus reactive control modality and disinhibition. Through a series of mediation analyses, we demonstrate that the tendency to use proactive control correlates with psychological distress and that this relation is mediated by perseverative thinking. Moreover, we show that the relation between low inhibitory control and psychological stress is more strongly mediated by perseverative thinking than impulsiveness, a classical construct that focuses on more transient reactions to stimuli. The present results underline the importance of considering psychological distress as the consequence of a maladaptive way of applying control over time, rather than the result of a general deficit in cognitive control abilities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:05:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55e26592c2074259b301730d1e0c671d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:05:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-55e26592c2074259b301730d1e0c671d2023-11-12T12:16:40ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-11-0113111310.1038/s41598-023-46713-9The relationship between perseverative thinking, proactive control, and inhibition in psychological distress: a study in a women’s cohortLorenzo Mattioni0Marcantonio M. Spada1Francesca Ferri2Carlo Sestieri3Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences - and ITAB, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, University G. d’Annunzio di Chieti-PescaraSchool of Applied Sciences, London South Bank UniversityDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences - and ITAB, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, University G. d’Annunzio di Chieti-PescaraDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences - and ITAB, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, University G. d’Annunzio di Chieti-PescaraAbstract Cognitive control is a core feature of several mental disorders. A recent account poses that health problems may derive from proactive forms of cognitive control that maintain stress representation over time. The working hypothesis of the present study is that psychological distress is caused by the tendency to select a particular maladaptive self-regulation strategy over time, namely perseverative thinking, rather than by transient stimulus–response patterns. To test this hypothesis, we asked 84 women to carry out a battery of standardized questionnaires regarding their tendency to undertake perseverative thinking and their level of psychological distress, followed by cognitive tasks measuring the tendency to use proactive versus reactive control modality and disinhibition. Through a series of mediation analyses, we demonstrate that the tendency to use proactive control correlates with psychological distress and that this relation is mediated by perseverative thinking. Moreover, we show that the relation between low inhibitory control and psychological stress is more strongly mediated by perseverative thinking than impulsiveness, a classical construct that focuses on more transient reactions to stimuli. The present results underline the importance of considering psychological distress as the consequence of a maladaptive way of applying control over time, rather than the result of a general deficit in cognitive control abilities.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46713-9 |
| spellingShingle | Lorenzo Mattioni Marcantonio M. Spada Francesca Ferri Carlo Sestieri The relationship between perseverative thinking, proactive control, and inhibition in psychological distress: a study in a women’s cohort Scientific Reports |
| title | The relationship between perseverative thinking, proactive control, and inhibition in psychological distress: a study in a women’s cohort |
| title_full | The relationship between perseverative thinking, proactive control, and inhibition in psychological distress: a study in a women’s cohort |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between perseverative thinking, proactive control, and inhibition in psychological distress: a study in a women’s cohort |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between perseverative thinking, proactive control, and inhibition in psychological distress: a study in a women’s cohort |
| title_short | The relationship between perseverative thinking, proactive control, and inhibition in psychological distress: a study in a women’s cohort |
| title_sort | relationship between perseverative thinking proactive control and inhibition in psychological distress a study in a women s cohort |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46713-9 |
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