0000000000443598
AUTHOR
Sandra Arnáez
showing 20 related works from this author
The relationship between obsessions and the self: Feared and actual self-descriptions in a clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder sample.
2022
Cognitive models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) posit the relevance of the self in OCD, although the nature of this association is still unclear. We aimed to explore actual and feared selves and its association with obsessions and intrusions in a group of OCD patients. A group of 58 patients with OCD identified their most upsetting obsession and intrusion (non-clinical obsession) experienced in the past three months. These cognitions were classified as either moral-based or autogenous (obsessions n=32; intrusions n=26) or non-moral-based or reactive, depending on their content. Next, patients described their actual self and their feared self, that is, the person they feared being or…
Dysfunctional beliefs about health and illness: a family study
2019
espanolLos modelos cognitivos sobre la hipocondria postulan que las experiencias tempranas con la enfermedad promueven el desarrollo de creencias disfuncionales sobre la enfermedad. Estas creencias pueden permanecer latentes y activarse ante un incidente critico. Los estudios publicados aportan datos que avalan de manera indirecta estos planteamientos. Teniendo en cuenta que en el nucleo familiar primario se comparten experiencias sobre la enfermedad, examinamos la relacion entre las creencias disfuncionales que los progenitores y sus descendientes mantienen sobre la enfermedad y los pensamientos, tales como la intolerancia a la incertidumbre y la sobreestimacion de la amenaza, y las relaci…
Dysfunctional beliefs as mediators between illness-related intrusive thoughts and health anxiety symptoms.
2019
AbstractBackground:Cognitive behavioural models of hypochondriasis assume that dysfunctional illness-related beliefs are involved in the genesis and maintenance of the disorder. The role that other more general dysfunctional beliefs about thoughts play in this disorder has also been highlighted. Internal triggers such as illness-related intrusive thoughts could activate these beliefs.Aim:The present paper examines whether general dysfunctional beliefs about distressing thoughts, such as intolerance of uncertainty, over-estimation of threat, and thought-action fusion-likelihood, mediate between illness-related intrusive thoughts and health anxiety symptoms.Method:A group of participants comp…
Recent Insights Into Cyberchondria.
2020
Purpose of Review The construct of cyberchondria was introduced relatively recently. This article aims to review the conceptualization, theoretical basis and correlates of cyberchondria, as well as its prevention and management. Recent Findings Although there is no consensus, most definitions of cyberchondria emphasize online health research associated with heightened distress or anxiety. The two theoretical models of cyberchondria involve reassurance seeking and specific metacognitive beliefs. Cyberchondria has relationships with health anxiety, problematic Internet use and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, with public health implications pertaining to functional impairment and al…
Illness‐related intrusive thoughts and illness anxiety disorder
2020
Introduction Intrusive thoughts about health threats (illness-ITs) are a potential cognitive risk factor for the development and maintenance of illness anxiety disorder (IAD). This study analyzes the dimensionality of illness-ITs from normalcy to psychopathology, and it evaluates whether the appraisals instigated by the Its mediate between these thoughts and IAD symptoms. Methods Two groups of individuals participated in the study and completed the Illness Intrusive Thoughts Inventory and the Whiteley Index. The first group was composed of 446 non-clinical community participants. Of them, 264 individuals (68.6% women; Mage = 30.03 [SD = 13.83]) reported having experienced an upsetting illne…
Efficacy of a mental health app intervention on family members of OCD patients
2022
INTRODUCION. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has a high cost for families, who frequently take part in compulsions, reassure patients, assume part of their responsibilities, try to conceal the disorder, and show stigmatizing attitudes (Ociskova et al., 2013; Stengler-Wenzke et al., 2004). esTOCma is a gamified mental health mobile application (app) that offers information about OCD, suggests where to find help, and helps fight stigmatizing attitudes. The objective of this study is to test esTOCma efficacy in a sample of OCD family members. Specifically, we will analyze if, after using the app, there is a change in the following variables: mental health literacy about OCD, stigma and soc…
Usability and feasibility of esTOCma, a gamified mobile application to reduce stigma and increase mental health literacy associated with obsessive-co…
2022
Introduction. Stigma is one of the main reasons why patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) delay seeking help and treatment. The esTOCma e-health app is a serious game that has been developed to overcome this stigma and lack of knowledge about OCD by providing tools for seeking professional help. The objective of this study is to analyze the usability, satisfaction and dropouts reason associated with the use of the esTOCma app. Method. 555 participants with an average age 39.24 years (SD= 15.78) (64.3% women) assessed the usability of the app after using it until the game was over (days of use Mean (SD) = 17.78 (15.58); range: 0 to 95 days). Participants assessed the usability th…
Cuando el TOC es el producto y la narrativa su mejor representante
2021
Introducción: Según el modelo inferencial para el Trastorno Obsesivo-Compulsivo (TOC), la confusión inferencial da lugar a la narrativa TOC, o discurso interno que el paciente construy a través de la confusión inferencial y cuya función principal es dar credibilidad y fuerza a la duda obsesiva. Por tanto, cuanto más elaborada sea dicha narrativa, más creíble parecerá la obsesión. Las narrativas TOC y las narrativas de las intrusiones (dudas no clínicas) compartirían herramientas de razonamiento generales pero además, las narrativas que subyacen a las obsesiones presentarían unas herramientas de razonamiento específicas del TOC. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron: (1) analizar el nivel de …
Contenidos obsesivos, miedo a la enfermedad y asco
2015
Recently, data about the associations between disgust and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have show some inconsistencies, which might be due to the differential role of disgust sensitivity and propensity, the infl uence of other variables, or the heterogeneity of OCD contents. This study examines the relationships among disgust sensitivity and propensity, fear of illness, and different obsessional contents in university students (N = 114). Disgust propensity was the most relevant variable in predicting Doubt/checking contents (19% of explained variance, EV), and fear of illness and disgust sensitivity were the most relevant variables predicting Contamination (EV: 21% and 8%, respectivel…
Enhancing mental health literacy in obsessive-compulsive disorder and reducing stigma via smartphone: A randomized controlled trial protocol.
2022
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling disorder that can be successfully treated. However, individuals with OCD do not seek or delay seeking treatment. This delay may be explained by poor mental health literacy and stigmatizing attitudes toward OCD in community. In order to work on these variables, a gamified mental health mobile application (app) called esTOCma has been developed. The purpose of this study is to describe the protocol for a study to test the efficacy of esTOCma, increasing mental health literacy and help-seeking intention, reducing the stigmatizing attitudes and social distance suffered by people with OCD, as well as the distress associated with obsessive-compul…
Aprendizaje cooperativo on-line a través de foros para la resolución de casos de psicopatología
2021
[EN] Human behaviour and its diversity make it very difficult to distinguish between the abnormal and the normal human behaviour and feelings. Through the subject of Psychopathology, students must acquire theoretical knowledge and apply it in practice to identify psychopathological symptoms and signs in clinical cases. The aim of this work is to present the results of the use of a forum as a cooperative learning space for the resolution of practical cases. The sample is composed of two groups (N1=51; N2=43, both in afternoon timetable) belonging to the subject of Psychopathology of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Valencia. The teaching material applied was the same except for…
The Spanish validation of the Short Health Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric properties and clinical utility
2019
The Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) is a widely used self-report instrument to evaluate health anxiety. To assess the SHAI's factor structure, psychometric properties, and accuracy in differentiating Spanish non-clinical individuals from patients with severe health anxiety or hypochondriasis.A total of 342 community participants (61.6% women;The original two-factor structure was selected as the best structure, based on its parsimony and empirical support (Factor 1: Illness likelihood; Factor 2: Negative consequences of illness). Moreover, the Spanish version of the SHAI demonstrated good construct and concurrent and discriminant validity, and internal consistency. A cutoff of 40.5 (to…
¿Mis obsesiones dicen algo sobre quién soy o sobre quién temo ser?
2021
Introducción: Los modelos cognitivo-conductuales para el Trastorno Obsesivo-Compulsivo (TOC) reconocen la relevancia del sí mismo en el TOC, aunque debido a la escasa investigación que existe sobre el tema, la naturaleza específica de esta relación sigue siendo una desconocida. En este estudio nos propusimos: (1) explorar elsí mismo real y el sí mismo temidode un grupo de pacientes con TOC; (2) describir la relación entre ambos tipos de identidad y la intrusión y obsesión más molesta de cada paciente, teniendo en cuenta el contenido de las mismas (autógeno versus reactivo). Método: Un grupo de 58 pacientes con diagnóstico de TOC identificó su obsesión más molesta y una intrusión que había e…
The relationships between health anxiety, online health information seeking, and cyberchondria: Systematic review and meta-analysis
2018
© 2018 Background: Cyberchondria refers to an abnormal behavioral pattern in which excessive or repeated online searches for health-related information are distressing or anxiety-provoking. Health anxiety has been found to be associated with both online health information seeking and cyberchondria. The aims of the present systematic review and meta-analysis were to examine the magnitude of these associations and identify any moderator variables. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed across several databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase) and reference lists of included studies. Results: Twenty studies were included across two independent meta-analyses, with 7373 participants. Ra…
Teachers' Knowledge and Stigmatizing Attitudes Associated With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Effectiveness of a Brief Educational Intervention
2021
Because children and adolescents are vulnerable to developing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), classroom teachers play an important role in the early identification and intervention in students with OCD. The present study aims to explore the recognition of OCD, general knowledge about this disorder, implications in the classroom, and stigmatizing attitudes among teachers, as well as the effectiveness of a brief educational intervention about OCD. Participants (n = 95; mean age = 43. 29 years old; 64.3% female) were primary and secondary school teachers who were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. All of them completed a set of self-report questionnaires, read …
esTOCma, an app developed to dismiss self-stigma and increase mental health literacy about obsessive-compulsive disorder: how does it perform in a cl…
2022
Introduction. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling condition that can be treated successfully. However, individuals with OCD often fail to seek or delay seeking treatment. In order to overcome this gap and increase the intention to seek for help, a gamified mental health mobile application (app) called esTOCma has been developed with a focus on offering information about OCD and on discussing stigmatizing attitudes toward the disease. The general aim of this study is to analyze the impact of the intervention through esTOCma in a clinical OCD sample. The objective of the study was two-fold. First, to analyze if the intervention changes the following variables in a clinical OCD …
CONOCIMIENTO, ESTIGMA Y DISTANCIA SOCIAL ASOCIADOS AL TRASTORNO OBSESIVO-COMPULSIVO EN POBLACIÓN GENERAL ADULTA
2021
A pesar de la elevada interferencia y malestar producido por el trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo (TOC) se observa una demora en la solicitud de asistencia. Esta demora se asocia principalmente a la falta de conocimiento sobre el trastorno y dónde acudir a a solicitar ayuda (mental health literacy; MHL). Otro factor relevante asociado a la demora es el estigma. El objetivo del presente estudio fue explorar el conocimiento, nivel de estigma y distancia social de la población general sobre los subtipos de TOC. MÉTODO: Participaron 52 personas (55,8% mujeres) que leyeron una viñeta (entre 6 opciones) que describía un paciente con TOC. A continuación completaron un cuestionario sobre MHL, el Attrib…
Is context a crucial factor in distinguishing between intrusions and obsessions in patients with obsessive‐compulsive disorder?
2021
Objective Some cognitive models of obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) posit that intrusions exist on a continuum with obsessions; others consider that they may be unrelated phenomena that differ in the context where they occur. We aimed to examine and compare, at two different moments, the context of the occurrence of intrusions and obsessions. Method Sixty‐eight patients with OCD completed an interview appraising their most upsetting obsession and intrusion. Results At their onset, the obsessions/intrusions were associated with experiencing negative emotional states and life events, and they were more likely to appear in 'inappropriate' contexts. The context of the obsessions/intrusions d…
Dysfunctional beliefs about health and illness: a family study
2019
Los modelos cognitivos sobre la hipocondría postulan que las experiencias tempranas con la enfermedad promueven el desarrollo de creencias disfuncionales sobre la enfermedad. Estas creencias pueden permanecer latentes y activarse ante un incidente crítico. Los estudios publicados aportan datos que avalan de mane- ra indirecta estos planteamientos. Teniendo en cuenta que en el núcleo familiar primario se comparten experiencias sobre la enfer- medad, examinamos la relación entre las creencias disfuncionales que los progenitores y sus descendientes mantienen sobre la en- fermedad y los pensamientos, tales como la intolerancia a la incer- tidumbre y la sobreestimación de la amenaza, y las relac…
Data base: Spanish version of the Short Form of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12)
2022
La presente base de datos incluye los datos referidos a la validación al español de la versión reducida de la Cyberchondria Severity Scale. La cibercondría se refiere a la búsqueda excesiva y repetida en línea relacionada con la salud, que se asocia con un aumento de la angustia y la ansiedad. Este estudio tiene como objetivo validar la medida más utilizada para la evaluación de la cibercondría: la Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) en su versión abreviada (CSS-12). Se incluyen datos extraídos de la población general española. Una muestra de 432 adultos hispanohablantes de la población general (67,6% mujeres; edad media = 36,00 ± 15,22 años) completó la traducción al español del CSS-12 junt…