Assessing Theories of State and Trait Change in Neuroticism and Symptom Improvement in the Unified Protocol

Behav Ther. 2024 Jan;55(1):93-105. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2023.05.005. Epub 2023 May 24.ABSTRACTResearchers have shown neuroticism decreases with treatment (Roberts et al., 2017), although it is unclear if this reflects fleeting state-level changes (state-artifact position) or trait-level change (cause-correction hypothesis). These theories further propose that changes in neuroticism predict symptom change (cause-correction hypothesis) or are predicted by symptom change (state-artifact position). We compared these theories in a clinical trial of the Unified Protocol (UP). Participants (N = 38; Mage = 34.55, 71.1% female, 78.9% Caucasian) meeting DSM-5 criteria for a primary emotional disorder completed up to 12 weekly sessions of the UP. Neuroticism exhibited state-level changes by Session 6 but trait-level changes by Session 12. Within-person reductions in neuroticism exhibited bidirectional relations with anxiety symptom change but predicted unidirectional session-to-session reductions in depression. These findings provide relatively more nuanced support for the cause-correction hypothesis that the UP leads to trait changes in neuroticism that tend to precede symptom change.PMID:38216240 | PMC:PMC10787156 | DOI:10.1016/j.beth.2023.05.005
Source: Behavior Therapy - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Source Type: research