Christine Scher - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Christine Scher

Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2001

Interpretation of research on the prevalence and sequelae of childhood trauma has been hindered b... more Interpretation of research on the prevalence and sequelae of childhood trauma has been hindered by the use of assessment instruments with unknown psychometric properties. Thus, we examined the psychometric properties of a new childhood trauma measure, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The CTQ has demonstrated strong psychometric properties in clinical samples; limited information exists on its psychometric properties in community samples. Therefore, we explored the factor structure and reliability of the CTQ in a communiry sample and calculated normative data. Consistent with previous literature, a 5-factor model best described the CTQ, with a hierarchical model also providing excellent fit. Additionally, the CTQ demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. Overall, our findings suggest that the CTQ is appropriate for use in a community sample.

Behavior Therapy, 2005

Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adult depressive disorders. However, few studies have e... more Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adult depressive disorders. However, few studies have examined mechanisms through which childhood maltreatment may contribute to adult depression. Thus, we examined the role of one potential mechanism of this relationship, maladaptive cognitions, in a recently traumatized sample. Participants were adult women who had been recently raped (n = 133) or physically assaulted (n = 73). We examined whether maladaptive self-and other-cognitions mediated relationships between childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and current depression. Relationships between childhood sexual abuse and both current depression symptoms and diagnosis were mediated by maladaptive cognitions about self. Relationships between both childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse and adult depressive symptoms were mediated by maladaptive cognitions about others.

orde et al.Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Feb 1, 2003

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders.... more Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders. Nonetheless, little is known about the developmental antecedents of AS or about its role as a mediator of emotional distress. To investigate these issues, 249 university students completed a battery of self-report measures. Regression analyses and partial correlations were used to evaluate hypotheses. Analyses revealed that exposure to parental threatening, hostile, and rejecting behaviors (1) predicted overall AS and (2) appeared differentially related to AS factors. Additionally, AS acted as a mediator between parenting and both current emotional distress and history of emotional disorder symptoms. These data support the notion that parental behaviors hypothesized as etiologic in the development of emotional disorders may also be etiologic in the development of AS and that AS may serve as a mediator between childhood experience and emotional distress.

Current Psychiatry Reports, 2000

Although the epidemiology, neurobiology, and treatment of anxiety disorders have received conside... more Although the epidemiology, neurobiology, and treatment of anxiety disorders have received considerable attention in the child and adult literature, they have not received the same consideration in the geriatric population. This disparity is remarkable given the prevalence and associated costs of these disorders that can persist into late life. Further, although a considerable amount is known about these disorders in younger age groups, it is unclear whether the phenomenology of anxiety evolves over the course of the aging process. Thus, conclusions drawn based on younger populations of anxious adults may not hold true for older cohorts. This article reviews issues of epidemiology, phenomenology, neurobiology, and medical comorbidity, as well as pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatments in older adults.

Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2003

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders.... more Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders. Nonetheless, little is known about the developmental antecedents of AS or about its role as a mediator of emotional distress. To investigate these issues, 249 university students completed a battery of self-report measures. Regression analyses and partial correlations were used to evaluate hypotheses. Analyses revealed that exposure to parental threatening, hostile, and rejecting behaviors (1) predicted overall AS and (2) appeared differentially related to AS factors. Additionally, AS acted as a mediator between parenting and both current emotional distress and history of emotional disorder symptoms. These data support the notion that parental behaviors hypothesized as etiologic in the development of emotional disorders may also be etiologic in the development of AS and that AS may serve as a mediator between childhood experience and emotional distress.

Depression and Anxiety, 2001

In an effort to confirm the factorial validity of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) across... more In an effort to confirm the factorial validity of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) across sex, the items from the CTQ for 916 university students were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated that the factor structure for the CTQ was significantly different for men and women. For women, the items from the Physical Abuse subscale did not create a stable factor and thus appear not to be conceptually valid. Conversely, for men, the five-factor model provided a relatively good fit to the data. This investigation provides important information regarding sex differences in the factorial validity of the CTQ. Implications and future research directions are discussed. Depression and Anxiety 13:179-183, 2001.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 2005

Post-traumatic stress disorder often co-occurs with depression, and they may share common risk fa... more Post-traumatic stress disorder often co-occurs with depression, and they may share common risk factors. One possible common cognitive risk factor is hopelessness. Thus, we examined whether hopelessness was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Participants were 202 female survivors of interpersonal violence. Relationships between self-reported and interviewer-rated measures of hopelessness gathered at 2 weeks post-trauma and self-reported and interviewer-rated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder gathered at 2 weeks and 3 months post-trauma were examined. Hierarchical, simultaneous regression analyses that co-varied trauma type revealed that hopelessness was related to self-reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, both concurrently and prospectively. Follow-up analyses revealed that relationships between hopelessness and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder were due almost entirely to shared variance with depression. No relationships were found between hopelessness and interviewer-rated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Journal of anxiety disorders, 2009

Clinical Psychology Review, 2005

Cognitive vulnerability is a central concept in cognitive theories of unipolar depression. This i... more Cognitive vulnerability is a central concept in cognitive theories of unipolar depression. This idea suggests that negative cognitive factors emerge during stressful situations, and that this cognitive reactivity is critical for the onset, relapse, and recurrence of depression. The number of empirical investigations that model the diathesis-stress nature of cognitive reactivity has substantially increased within the last decade. This review

Behavior therapy, Jan 1, 2005

Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adult depressive disorders. However, few studies have e... more Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adult depressive disorders. However, few studies have examined mechanisms through which childhood maltreatment may contribute to adult depression. Thus, we examined the role of one potential mechanism of this relationship, maladaptive cognitions, in a recently traumatized sample. Participants were adult women who had been recently raped ( n ‫؍‬ 133) or physically assaulted ( n ‫؍‬ 73). We examined whether maladaptive selfand other-cognitions mediated relationships between childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and current depression. Relationships between childhood sexual abuse and both current depression symptoms and diagnosis were mediated by maladaptive cognitions about self. Relationships between both childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse and adult depressive symptoms were mediated by maladaptive cognitions about others.

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2002

The goal was to develop a retrospective inventory of parental threatening behavior to facilitate ... more The goal was to develop a retrospective inventory of parental threatening behavior to facilitate a better understanding of such behavior's role in the etiology of psychological distress. Inventory items were developed based on theory and 135 students' responses to a question eliciting examples of threatening parental behavior. Following item development, two additional student samples (n = 200 and n = 603) completed batteries of self-report measures. Responses were used to eliminate unstable or redundant items from the inventory and to examine the inventory's psychometric properties. Factor analysis of the inventory revealed three factors, accounting for 66.2% of variance; this factor structure is compatible with theory, and consistent across maternal behavior scores, paternal behavior scores, and combined maternal and paternal scores. Cronbach's coefficient alphas indicated acceptable internal consistency; Pearson correlation coefficients indicated acceptable 4-week test-retest reliability. Moderate intercorrelations with two retrospective measures of childhood experiences suggested construct validity. Regression analyses demonstrated the ability of the inventory to predict both anxious and depressive symptomatology and lifetime symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorder. Normative data on combined parent scores, maternal scores, and paternal scores are also presented. Initial psychometric testing of the Parent Threat Inventory (PTI) suggests it is a reliable and valid tool for investigating the developmental antecedents of adult psychological distress. Further research should focus on addressing two limitations: (1) lack of normative and psychometric data on men and women suffering from clinical disorders, and (2) lack of validation by parental reporting.

Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2008

Empirical research increasingly suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is comprised ... more Empirical research increasingly suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is comprised of four factors: re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing, and hyperarousal. Nonetheless, there remains some inconsistency in the findings of factor analyses that form the bulk of this empirical literature.

Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2001

Interpretation of research on the prevalence and sequelae of childhood trauma has been hindered b... more Interpretation of research on the prevalence and sequelae of childhood trauma has been hindered by the use of assessment instruments with unknown psychometric properties. Thus, we examined the psychometric properties of a new childhood trauma measure, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The CTQ has demonstrated strong psychometric properties in clinical samples; limited information exists on its psychometric properties in community samples. Therefore, we explored the factor structure and reliability of the CTQ in a communiry sample and calculated normative data. Consistent with previous literature, a 5-factor model best described the CTQ, with a hierarchical model also providing excellent fit. Additionally, the CTQ demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. Overall, our findings suggest that the CTQ is appropriate for use in a community sample.

Behavior Therapy, 2005

Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adult depressive disorders. However, few studies have e... more Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adult depressive disorders. However, few studies have examined mechanisms through which childhood maltreatment may contribute to adult depression. Thus, we examined the role of one potential mechanism of this relationship, maladaptive cognitions, in a recently traumatized sample. Participants were adult women who had been recently raped (n = 133) or physically assaulted (n = 73). We examined whether maladaptive self-and other-cognitions mediated relationships between childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and current depression. Relationships between childhood sexual abuse and both current depression symptoms and diagnosis were mediated by maladaptive cognitions about self. Relationships between both childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse and adult depressive symptoms were mediated by maladaptive cognitions about others.

orde et al.Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Feb 1, 2003

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders.... more Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders. Nonetheless, little is known about the developmental antecedents of AS or about its role as a mediator of emotional distress. To investigate these issues, 249 university students completed a battery of self-report measures. Regression analyses and partial correlations were used to evaluate hypotheses. Analyses revealed that exposure to parental threatening, hostile, and rejecting behaviors (1) predicted overall AS and (2) appeared differentially related to AS factors. Additionally, AS acted as a mediator between parenting and both current emotional distress and history of emotional disorder symptoms. These data support the notion that parental behaviors hypothesized as etiologic in the development of emotional disorders may also be etiologic in the development of AS and that AS may serve as a mediator between childhood experience and emotional distress.

Current Psychiatry Reports, 2000

Although the epidemiology, neurobiology, and treatment of anxiety disorders have received conside... more Although the epidemiology, neurobiology, and treatment of anxiety disorders have received considerable attention in the child and adult literature, they have not received the same consideration in the geriatric population. This disparity is remarkable given the prevalence and associated costs of these disorders that can persist into late life. Further, although a considerable amount is known about these disorders in younger age groups, it is unclear whether the phenomenology of anxiety evolves over the course of the aging process. Thus, conclusions drawn based on younger populations of anxious adults may not hold true for older cohorts. This article reviews issues of epidemiology, phenomenology, neurobiology, and medical comorbidity, as well as pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic treatments in older adults.

Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2003

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders.... more Anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been implicated in the etiology of anxiety and depressive disorders. Nonetheless, little is known about the developmental antecedents of AS or about its role as a mediator of emotional distress. To investigate these issues, 249 university students completed a battery of self-report measures. Regression analyses and partial correlations were used to evaluate hypotheses. Analyses revealed that exposure to parental threatening, hostile, and rejecting behaviors (1) predicted overall AS and (2) appeared differentially related to AS factors. Additionally, AS acted as a mediator between parenting and both current emotional distress and history of emotional disorder symptoms. These data support the notion that parental behaviors hypothesized as etiologic in the development of emotional disorders may also be etiologic in the development of AS and that AS may serve as a mediator between childhood experience and emotional distress.

Depression and Anxiety, 2001

In an effort to confirm the factorial validity of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) across... more In an effort to confirm the factorial validity of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) across sex, the items from the CTQ for 916 university students were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicated that the factor structure for the CTQ was significantly different for men and women. For women, the items from the Physical Abuse subscale did not create a stable factor and thus appear not to be conceptually valid. Conversely, for men, the five-factor model provided a relatively good fit to the data. This investigation provides important information regarding sex differences in the factorial validity of the CTQ. Implications and future research directions are discussed. Depression and Anxiety 13:179-183, 2001.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 2005

Post-traumatic stress disorder often co-occurs with depression, and they may share common risk fa... more Post-traumatic stress disorder often co-occurs with depression, and they may share common risk factors. One possible common cognitive risk factor is hopelessness. Thus, we examined whether hopelessness was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Participants were 202 female survivors of interpersonal violence. Relationships between self-reported and interviewer-rated measures of hopelessness gathered at 2 weeks post-trauma and self-reported and interviewer-rated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder gathered at 2 weeks and 3 months post-trauma were examined. Hierarchical, simultaneous regression analyses that co-varied trauma type revealed that hopelessness was related to self-reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, both concurrently and prospectively. Follow-up analyses revealed that relationships between hopelessness and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder were due almost entirely to shared variance with depression. No relationships were found between hopelessness and interviewer-rated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Journal of anxiety disorders, 2009

Clinical Psychology Review, 2005

Cognitive vulnerability is a central concept in cognitive theories of unipolar depression. This i... more Cognitive vulnerability is a central concept in cognitive theories of unipolar depression. This idea suggests that negative cognitive factors emerge during stressful situations, and that this cognitive reactivity is critical for the onset, relapse, and recurrence of depression. The number of empirical investigations that model the diathesis-stress nature of cognitive reactivity has substantially increased within the last decade. This review

Behavior therapy, Jan 1, 2005

Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adult depressive disorders. However, few studies have e... more Childhood maltreatment has been linked to adult depressive disorders. However, few studies have examined mechanisms through which childhood maltreatment may contribute to adult depression. Thus, we examined the role of one potential mechanism of this relationship, maladaptive cognitions, in a recently traumatized sample. Participants were adult women who had been recently raped ( n ‫؍‬ 133) or physically assaulted ( n ‫؍‬ 73). We examined whether maladaptive selfand other-cognitions mediated relationships between childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and current depression. Relationships between childhood sexual abuse and both current depression symptoms and diagnosis were mediated by maladaptive cognitions about self. Relationships between both childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse and adult depressive symptoms were mediated by maladaptive cognitions about others.

Child Abuse & Neglect, 2002

The goal was to develop a retrospective inventory of parental threatening behavior to facilitate ... more The goal was to develop a retrospective inventory of parental threatening behavior to facilitate a better understanding of such behavior's role in the etiology of psychological distress. Inventory items were developed based on theory and 135 students' responses to a question eliciting examples of threatening parental behavior. Following item development, two additional student samples (n = 200 and n = 603) completed batteries of self-report measures. Responses were used to eliminate unstable or redundant items from the inventory and to examine the inventory's psychometric properties. Factor analysis of the inventory revealed three factors, accounting for 66.2% of variance; this factor structure is compatible with theory, and consistent across maternal behavior scores, paternal behavior scores, and combined maternal and paternal scores. Cronbach's coefficient alphas indicated acceptable internal consistency; Pearson correlation coefficients indicated acceptable 4-week test-retest reliability. Moderate intercorrelations with two retrospective measures of childhood experiences suggested construct validity. Regression analyses demonstrated the ability of the inventory to predict both anxious and depressive symptomatology and lifetime symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorder. Normative data on combined parent scores, maternal scores, and paternal scores are also presented. Initial psychometric testing of the Parent Threat Inventory (PTI) suggests it is a reliable and valid tool for investigating the developmental antecedents of adult psychological distress. Further research should focus on addressing two limitations: (1) lack of normative and psychometric data on men and women suffering from clinical disorders, and (2) lack of validation by parental reporting.

Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2008

Empirical research increasingly suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is comprised ... more Empirical research increasingly suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is comprised of four factors: re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing, and hyperarousal. Nonetheless, there remains some inconsistency in the findings of factor analyses that form the bulk of this empirical literature.