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Most questionnaires construe avoidance as resulting from a problem-solving process and analyse only a few, single-factor and mostly non-adequate, forms of avoidance. The aim of the present study was to develop a multi-dimensional questionnaire to measure avoidance among adolescents. We tested the Avoidance Questionnaire for Adolescents (AQA) with 12-, 15- and 18-year-olds to measure most forms of avoidance in social problem-solving as well as to shed light on the relationships between the sub-processes of social problem-solving. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to examine the measure’s factor structure, while confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to support the theoretical process model of avoidance. The convergent and discriminative validity of the AQA was tested in relation to the Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Revised (SPSI–R). Two versions (a long version of 42 items and a short version of 23 items) of the 11-factor AQA were developed in accordance with the results. The long and short versions were found to be valid measures of problem-solving with regards to negative thoughts, feelings and physical symptoms; negative self-efficacy/insolvability; prevention; annulation; ignoring the problem; expectation/diversion; mulling; procrastination/rethink; stopping/subordination; external pressure; and asking for help. The factors show positive or negative correlations with the SPSI–R factors. The results of the SEM support the original process model. Based on earlier Hungarian research carried out with the SPSI–R, avoidance shows a tendency to increase in adolescence. In contrast, the results of the AQA show that the earliest age differences occur in the ignoring the problem, procrastination, stopping, diversion and expectation factors., peer-reviewed

Despite the large body of evidence that supports the efficacy of exposure therapy (ET) for anxiety disorders, many clinicians do not utilize exposure for these conditions, or they deliver exposure in an overly cautious, suboptimal manner. Research points to several therapist characteristics that might interfere with the decision to use exposure and with its optimal delivery: a persistent set of beliefs that ET is harmful and intolerable, experiential avoidance (EA) of anxiety and discomfort that arises during exposure, anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty. It is critically important to address these barriers to dissemination and implementation of ET. Though researchers have found promising results of didactic ET training that targets clinicians' negative beliefs about exposure, no research has directly targeted therapists' EA during didactic ET training. This study sought to determine whether incorporating techniques to improve therapists' exposure-related willingness to experience anxiety into didactic training might improve the quality of their exposure delivery. Mental health clinicians and psychology graduate students attended a standard ET training workshop (ST; n = 53) that also targeted therapists' concerns about ET or the same workshop with acceptance-based techniques (ST+ABT; n = 46) to improve therapists' EA. Primary outcomes were assessed via the quality of participants' exposure delivery as determined by a simulated exposure session. An additional dose of intervention was delivered at the conclusion at the exposure session via individualized feedback to participants about their exposure delivery. Secondary outcomes, including exposure delivery on a hypothetical case vignette, experiential avoidance, beliefs about exposure therapy, intolerance of uncertainty, and anxiety sensitivity were assessed after the workshop and at one-month follow-up. Reported frequency of exposure delivery after the workshop was also examined at the follow-up assessment. Results indicated that both groups delivered exposure therapy of equal quality according to objective ratings of therapists' behaviors, but participants in the ST condition delivered better quality exposure according to a global subjective rating (p = .045). In contrast, there were no group differences in exposure delivery on the case vignette or actual use of exposure methods in the month after the workshop. Experiential avoidance scores did not improve from pre-workshop to post-workshop, though they improved by the follow-up assessment, and limited evidence suggests they improved to a greater degree in the ST+ABT group. Some evidence suggested that EA was associated with exposure delivery on the case vignette. In addition, negative beliefs about ET and intolerance of uncertainty were consistently associated with more cautious exposure delivery on the case vignette. No therapist factors were related to exposure delivery during the simulated session. Results suggest that the ST and ST+ABT protocols may have been more similar than distinct, and the ST+ABT protocol may have attempted to cover too much content in a half-day workshop; this may have resulted in greater consolidation of learning in the ST group. Results also suggest that therapists' negative beliefs about ET and intolerance of uncertainty, and to some extent EA, may be critical barriers to effective exposure delivery. Future research should expand on efforts to identify which therapist factors most interfere with exposure delivery. Additionally, future research should examine the best methods for assessing therapists' ET proficiency in real-world settings. Implications for the dissemination and implementation of ET are discussed.

Jeffrey Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) represents one of the most influential biologically-based personality theories describing individual differences in approach and avoidance tendencies. The most prominent self-report inventory to measure individual differences in approach and avoidance behavior to date is the BIS/BAS scale by Carver and White (1994). As Gray and McNaughton (2000) revised the RST after its initial formulation in the 1970/80s, and given the Carver and White measure is based on the initial conceptualization of RST, there is a growing need for self-report inventories measuring individual differences in the revised behavioral inhibition system (BIS), behavioral activation system (BAS) and the fight, flight, freezing system (FFFS). Therefore, in this paper we present a new questionnaire measuring individual differences in the revised constructs of the BIS, BAS and FFFS in N = 1814 participants (German sample). An English translated version of the new measure is also presented and tested in N = 299 English language participants. A large number of German participants (N = 1090) also filled in the BIS/BAS scales by Carver and White (1994) and the correlations between these measures are presented. Finally, this same subgroup of participants provided buccal swaps for the investigation of the arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (AVPR1a) gene. Here, a functional genetic polymorphism (rs11174811) on the AVPR1a gene was shown to be associated with individual differences in both the revised BIS and classic BIS dimensions.

Approach to desirable events or stimuli of reward and avoidance of undesirable events or stimuli of non-reward or punishment are powerful forces to drive behavior. The importance of approach and avoidance motivation has been outlined in many psychological theories and traditions, including psychodynamics, behaviorism and cognitivism (Elliot and Covington, 2001). Of all theoretical accounts, the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) by Jeffrey Gray is probably the most elaborate perspective on approach and avoidance (Gray, 1971; Gray and McNaughton, 2000). Key contributions by Gray within this framework are the identification of neural circuits underlying approach and avoidance behavior, the description of these circuits as neuropsychological systems with circumscribed functions in terms of a conceptual nervous system, and the development of a theory of personality based on individual differences in the reactivity of these systems.

Math anxiety is prevalent among citizens of our country, yet nowhere is it more prominent than in America's classrooms. Elementary school teachers hesitate to teach difficult, abstract concepts while students straggle to make sense of the manipulation of numbers and symbols. These struggles perpetuate the negative attitudes towards mathematics and promote math anxiety and avoidance behaviors. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that contribute to the development of math anxiety in female elementary school pre-service teachers and assess the relationship between math anxiety and math avoidance behaviors. Initial examination of 43 mathematics autobiographies identified mathematical experiences in ten separate categories. Three categories, students' experiences with math teachers, math content, and math pedagogical practices, were used to develop experience scales for these constructs. A fourth scale was developed to measure experiences with math avoidance behaviors. Math anxiety was measured using the Revised Math Anxiety Scale. A correlation matrix compared the participants' scores on the four experience scales with math anxiety. A regression analysis was conducted to determine if participants' experience with math content, math teachers, or pedagogical practices in the math classroom could be identified as predictors of math anxiety. Finally, additional regression analyses were conducted to identify math anxiety and experiences with math teachers, math content, and pedagogical practices in math classrooms as predictors for math avoidance behaviors. Math specialization participants and those participants specializing in other areas were analyzed separately. Results indicated a strong correlation between math anxiety and participants' mathematical content experiences for both groups. Moderate correlations w ere found for math anxiety and participants' experiences with math teachers for both groups. Math specialization participants' math anxiety was not significantly correlated with pedagogical experiences in the mathematics classroom. Non-math specialization participants' math anxiety levels were slightly correlated with pedagogical experiences in the math classroom. The results of the regression analysis identified experiences with mathematical content as a significant predictor of math anxiety for both math specialization participants and those who selected a specialization other than mathematics. Additional regression analysis identified math anxiety and participants' experiences with math content as significant predictors of math avoidance behaviors.

Conflict is inevitable in intimate relationships, and conflict resolution is an important predictor of relationship satisfaction. Despite thorough understanding of the cognitive-behavioral factors in conflict resolution, very little is known about characteristics individuals bring into their relationships that influence their conflict resolution pattems. The purpose of the study was to explore the individual differences in conflict resolution behaviors using attachment theory as a framework. A total of 448 undergraduate students at a large Southwestem university were assessed on aduit attachment style, conflict resolution behavior, relationship satisfaction, and early attachment experience. These constructs were measured by Multiple-Item Measure of Adult Romantic Attachment (MIMARA, Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998), Rahim Organizational Confhct Inventory-II (ROCI-II, Rahim, 1983), Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS, Hendrick, 1988), and Inventory of Parent-Peer Attachment (IPPA, Armsden & Greenberg, 1987). The results confírmed that the two attachment dimensions, Anxiety and Avoidance, were predictive of conflict resolution behaviors and relationship satisfaction, with participants who scored lower on the two attachment dimensions displaying more positive behaviors and reporting higher relationship satisfaction. Gender had much less influence on these variables than the attachment dimensions. The influence of early attachment experiences with parental figures was limited. Closeness with father figure was moderately related to a lower level of Anxiety and less of the conflict resolution behavior of Dominating. Early separation from a parental figure was associated with greater anxiety in adulthood. The distribution of adult attachment styles varied with relationship status (married, currently in serious relationship, previously in serious relationship), with more participants who were married or currently in relationship falling into the Secure category. This result suggests that relationship and attachment styles influence each other, and that adult attachment style is not static. The study was a first attempt to understand the association between attachment style and conflict resolution behavior using a more comprehensive four-category attachment measure. In general, the results of this study provide support for the association between the two. Future research should examine the influence of childfather relationship on the formation of attachment style and the distribution of the fourcategory attachment style in various populations.