Papers by Andrés Peña-Vargas
Psychotherapy, 2020
This parallel randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effect of acceptance and commitme... more This parallel randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effect of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) focused on disrupting repetitive negative thinking (RNT) versus a waitlist control (WLC) in the treatment of depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Forty-eight participants with a main diagnosis of depression and/or GAD were allocated by means of simple randomization to a 2-session RNT-focused ACT intervention or to the WLC. The primary outcomes were emotional symptoms as measured by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21. Process outcomes included ACT-and RNTrelated measures: general RNT, experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, values, and generalized pliance. At the 1-month follow-up, linear mixed effects models showed that the intervention was efficacious in reducing emotional symptoms (d ϭ 2.42, 95% confidence interval [1.64, 3.19]), with 94.12% of participants in the RNT-focused ACT condition showing clinically significant change in the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 total scores versus 9.09% in the WLC condition (70% vs. 8% in intention-to-treat analysis). The intervention effects were maintained at the 3-month follow-up. No adverse events were found. A very brief RNT-focused ACT intervention was highly effective in the treatment of depression and GAD. Clinical Impact Statement Question: What is the applied clinical practice question this paper is hoping to address? To analyze whether a 2-session acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention focused on disrupting repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is effective in treating depression and GAD. Findings: How would clinicians meaningfully use the primary findings of this paper in their applied practice? Clinicians might use the RNT-focused ACT protocol to treat depression and GAD. Meaning: What are the key conclusions and implications for future clinical practice and research? The RNT-focused ACT protocol was highly effective in treating depression and GAD. Next Steps: Based on the primary findings and limitations of this paper, what are future directions to be explored in clinical practice and research? To analyze the long-term effects of the RNT-focused ACT protocol.
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 2018
Empirical research on functional classes of rule-governed behavior has been scarce, which might b... more Empirical research on functional classes of rule-governed behavior has been scarce, which might be due to the absence of valid behavioral or self-report measures. We describe the development and initial examination of the Generalized Pliance Questionnaire (GPQ) through three studies with a total of 2127 participants. In Study 1, a pool of 77 items reflecting generalized pliance was designed. Thirty-eight of these items were rated as highquality by at least one of two experts in RFT and were administered to 130 undergraduates. A preliminary version of the GPQ consisting of 18 items (i.e., GPQ-18) was obtained. In Study 2, the GPQ-18 was applied to 410 undergraduates. The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed that the GPQ-18 can be considered as a unidimensional measure and that all items showed good functioning. A shorter, 9-item version of the GPQ (i.e., GPQ-9) was also obtained. In Study 3, the GPQ-18 was applied to three samples, including large samples of undergraduates, the general population and a smaller clinical sample. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the one-factor model obtained a good fit for the GPQ-18 and acceptable for the GPQ-9. Both versions of the GPQ showed excellent internal
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 2019
Abstract This parallel randomized controlled trial evaluated the effect of Acceptance and Commitm... more Abstract This parallel randomized controlled trial evaluated the effect of Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) focused on disrupting repetitive negative thinking (RNT) versus a waitlist control (WLC) in clinical psychology trainees. Ninety-four undergraduate, clinical psychology trainees of a Colombian university were invited to participate in the study. Eighty-five trainees agreed to participate and were allocated by means of simple randomization to a group, 6-session RNT-focused ACT intervention or the WLC. The ACT training was based on an online program for emotional disorders. The primary outcomes were measures of emotional symptoms and valued living, whereas process measures were RNT-related measures. All participants completed the study. At posttreatment, repeated measures ANOVA showed that the training was efficacious in reducing emotional symptoms (d = 0.75), depression (d = 0.79), the frequency of behaviors obstructing valued living (d = 0.51), RNT focused on clinical practice (d = 0.89), and general RNT (d = 0.62). Larger effect sizes were obtained by participants showing high levels of emotional symptoms (d = 0.75–2.52), with 73.33% of participants obtaining a reliable change in emotional symptoms, and 66.67% a clinically significant change versus 7.14% for both indicators in the WLC condition. The training effects were longitudinally mediated by the reduction of RNT focused on clinical practice at two-thirds of the program. An easy-to-implement RNT-focused ACT training is effective in reducing emotional symptoms and promoting valued living in clinical psychology trainees.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Delivering metaphors experientially has been emphasized in several psychotherapies, such as accep... more Delivering metaphors experientially has been emphasized in several psychotherapies, such as acceptance and commitment therapy. However, few research has analyzed the variables involved in the efficacy of metaphors. This experimental analog study aims to advance in this topic by analyzing the effect of two components involved in the experiential delivery of metaphors in psychotherapy. The first component is presenting the metaphor by asking the individual to imagine herself as the protagonist of the story versus presenting the metaphor in the third person (Self vs. Other). The second component is the inclusion of verbal cues prompting the relational elaboration of the rules derived from the metaphor content versus not including these prompts (Elaboration vs. No Elaboration). The effect of these components was tested in a double-blind, randomized, 2 × 2 factorial experiment that used the cold pressor task (CPT). Eighty-four participants were exposed to the CPT at the pretest. Afterwar...
The Spanish Journal of Psychology
Previous research has shown that individuals suffering from depression and generalized anxiety di... more Previous research has shown that individuals suffering from depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) seem to have inhibitory control deficits compared with healthy controls. However, few studies have been conducted in Spanish-speaking countries. Thus, this study aims to analyze the performance on the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) between groups of Colombian participants with clinical levels of depression and GAD symptoms and a nonclinical control group. According to previous research, we expected to find significant differences in inhibitory control among groups. An ex post facto design was implemented. The SCWT was administered to a total sample of 105 individuals (64.8% women, M = 22.94 years, SD = 4.62), including 27 depressed and 15 anxious participants according to their scores on the Personal Health Questionnaire–9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7, respectively. Bayesian t-tests showed that depressed participants showed the same processing speed but lower sc...
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Papers by Andrés Peña-Vargas