Papers by Heather Plinovich
Cultural effects on sexuality are pervasive and potentially of great clinical importance, but hav... more Cultural effects on sexuality are pervasive and potentially of great clinical importance, but have not yet received sustained empirical attention. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of acculturation on sexual permissiveness and sexual function, with a particular focus on arousal in Asian women living in Canada. We also compared questionnaire responses between Asian and Euro-Canadian groups in hopes of investigating whether acculturation captured unique information not predicted by ethnic group affiliation. Euro-Canadian (n = 173) and Asian (n = 176) female university students completed a battery of questionnaires in private. Euro-Canadian women had significantly more sexual knowledge and experiences, more liberal attitudes, and higher rates of desire, arousal, sexual receptivity, and sexual pleasure. Anxiety from anticipated sexual activity was significantly higher in Asian women, but the groups did not differ significantly on relationship satisfaction or problems wit...
Assessment, 2008
Anxiety sensitivity (AS), a cognitive risk factor for anxiety disorders, was evaluated in a homog... more Anxiety sensitivity (AS), a cognitive risk factor for anxiety disorders, was evaluated in a homogeneous obsessive—compulsive disorder (OCD) sample. A total of 280 individuals with OCD completed measures. Evaluation of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index revealed a latent structure that was congruent with previous studies showing a single higher order and three lower order factors, although greater variance was accounted for by the general factor than in a previous study. AS was significantly associated with OCD symptom severity after controlling for other putative cognitive risk factors, although the additional variance explained was small. Variability in the relationship of AS to OCD symptom severity was found across OCD symptom subgroups. Results suggest that AS might be an important aspect of OCD-relevant cognition for specific OCD subgroups, and the need for experimental evaluation is discussed.
Oxford Handbooks Online, 2011
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex, often debilitating syndrome that significantly ... more Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex, often debilitating syndrome that significantly diminishes quality of life. Although the exact prevalence of OCD is unclear, estimates suggest that it is a common form of psychopathology in the West and throughout the world. A challenge to researchers and clinicians is the significant heterogeneity of OCD. Initial heterogeneity research points to important subtypes of the disorder. Elucidation of disorder heterogeneity might advance etiologic theory and treatment research, and suggest where OCD or OCD-like conditions should be placed in a comprehensive psychiatric disorder nosology. OCD more often occurs with other psychiatric disorders, and evaluation of OCD comorbidity will help clarify this condition’s relation to anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and conditions posited to be part of a broad OCD spectrum. Despite significant advancements, much work remains before we can fully understand obsessional disorders and the relation of OC...
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2008
Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are part of the diagnostic criteria for Mild Cognitive Impair... more Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are part of the diagnostic criteria for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), yet little is known about their etiology. In some previous studies, no direct relation has been found between SMCs and objective memory performance, yet significant correlations have been identified between SMCs and psychological factors such as depression and anxiety. In the current study, we examined whether negative affect moderated the relation between objective memory functioning and SMCs in a sample of healthy, non-demented participants aged 65 and older. As predicted, several negative affect measures moderated the relationship between objective cognitive functioning and SMCs. In the absence of objective memory impairment as indexed by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and the Dementia Rating Scale-2nd Edition (DRS-2), higher levels of negative affect were associated with increased levels of SMCs. Moreover, a lower order negative affect factor, anxiety sensitivity, significantly moderated the relation between objective memory functioning and SMCs, after controlling for higher order measures of general negative affectivity. Findings suggest that negative affect, particularly anxiety sensitivity, distorts the subjective appraisal of one's own memory, such that people high on negative affect factors report more episodes of forgetting, even in the absence of objective cognitive impairments.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2010
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) heterogeneity research identified a patient subgroup that end... more Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) heterogeneity research identified a patient subgroup that endorsed few of the dysfunctional beliefs posited to be important to development of obsessional disorders. Because of the clinical and theoretical importance of such heterogeneity, we attempted to elucidate the concerns of a low-beliefs OCD subgroup. We evaluated specific metacognitive beliefs and monitoring tendencies assessed on the Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30; Wells & Cartwright-Hatton, 2004), and feelings of incompleteness ("not just right experiences" [NJREs]) believed to reflect an inability to use emotional experience and sensory feedback to guide behavior (Summerfeldt, 2007). Low (OCD-L) and high dysfunctional beliefs (OCD-H) OCD patient subgroups, and anxious and student comparison groups, completed measures. Scoring on the MCQ-30 differentiated OCD subgroups, although evaluations of differences and correlations with OCD symptom measures indicated that these metacognitive beliefs more so characterized the thinking of the OCD-H subgroup. Scoring on NJREs measures also differentiated OCD subgroups. NJREs scores were consistently related to OCD symptoms only for the OCD-L subgroup. Results are congruent with theoretical formulations positing that harm avoidance and feelings of incompleteness are important and distinct motivations that underlie specific variants of OCD.
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2008
This study examined the relationship between perfectionism, as measured by the Multidimensional P... more This study examined the relationship between perfectionism, as measured by the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS; [R. O. Frost et al. (1990) Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449-468], and treatment outcome in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Patients (n = 118) participated in group [
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2005
Cultural effects on sexuality are pervasive and potentially of great clinical importance, but hav... more Cultural effects on sexuality are pervasive and potentially of great clinical importance, but have not yet received sustained empirical attention. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of acculturation on sexual permissiveness and sexual function, with a particular focus on arousal in Asian women living in Canada. We also compared questionnaire responses between Asian and Euro-Canadian groups in hopes of investigating whether acculturation captured unique information not predicted by ethnic group affiliation. Euro-Canadian (n = 173) and Asian (n = 176) female university students completed a battery of questionnaires in private. Euro-Canadian women had significantly more sexual knowledge and experiences, more liberal attitudes, and higher rates of desire, arousal, sexual receptivity, and sexual pleasure. Anxiety from anticipated sexual activity was significantly higher in Asian women, but the groups did not differ significantly on relationship satisfaction or problems with sexual function. Acculturation to Western culture, as well as maintained affiliation with traditional Asian heritage, were both significantly and independently related to sexual attitudes above and beyond length of residency in Canada, and beyond ethnic group comparisons. Overall, these data suggest that measurement of acculturation may capture information about an individual's unique acculturation pattern that is not evident when focusing solely on ethnic group comparisons or length of residency, and that such findings may be important in facilitating the assessment, classification, and treatment of sexual difficulties in Asian women.
Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2008
Although significant empirical support exists for both cognitive and neurobiological models of ob... more Although significant empirical support exists for both cognitive and neurobiological models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), there have been few efforts to integrate findings. In this investigation, we attempted to link models by examining relationships between performance on information processing tasks posited to be markers of OCD-related neuropathology and a self-report measure of excessive thought-focused attention (cognitive self-consciousness; CSC). Congruent with predictions and prior research, OCD patients’ performance was impaired in comparison to an anxious control group on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) Task, a measure of implicit procedural learning. Following completion of the SRT, participants’ awareness of the embedded stimulus pattern was assessed. As predicted, participants with OCD demonstrated superior performance on this task. Scoring on a measure of CSC correlated with performance on both tasks, although the amount of variance accounted for was modest. Ev...
Uploads
Papers by Heather Plinovich