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

ABSTRACT: Researchers 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; M_age = 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 exh

SUBMITTER: Stumpp NE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10787156 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature