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What's the Risk? Fearful Individuals Generally Overestimate Negative Outcomes and They Dread Outcomes of Specific Events.

ABSTRACT: Although it is an adaptive mechanism that danger usually elicits fear, it seems that fearful individuals overestimate the danger associated with their feared objects or situations. Previous research has not systematically distinguished between the estimated risk of an encounter with fear-relevant stimuli and the expected unpleasant outcomes of such encounters. Furthermore, it is not clear if biased risk perception is specific to an individual's fear or generalized to all negative events. In an online-survey (N = 630) we assessed the estimated risk to encounter fear-relevant stimuli and the expectations of negative outcomes of such encounters. Items contained three domains (spiders, snakes, and everyday fear triggers). In regression analyses we examined the specific associations between fear and risk estimations. In addition, we compared subgroups with specific fears and low fearful individuals. While an individual's fear score was not related to the estimated risk of an encounter with fear-specific stimuli, it was related to an overestimation of negative outcomes in all domains. The perceived risk of aversive outcomes was most pronounced for an individual's specific fear. Furthermore, an individual's specific fear was most predictive of the estimated risk of a negative fear-relevant outcome. Highly fearful individuals overestimate the risk of negative outcomes of fear-relevant encounters. Specifically, they dread outcomes of encounters with their feared object. Differentiating fear-relevant components of risk perception provides insights into the cognitions which may motivate maladaptive avoidance behavior.

SUBMITTER: Hengen KM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6682660 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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What's the Risk? Fearful Individuals Generally Overestimate Negative Outcomes and They Dread Outcomes of Specific Events.

Hengen Kristina M KM Alpers Georg W GW

Frontiers in psychology 20190730

Although it is an adaptive mechanism that danger usually elicits fear, it seems that fearful individuals overestimate the danger associated with their feared objects or situations. Previous research has not systematically distinguished between the estimated risk of an encounter with fear-relevant stimuli and the expected unpleasant outcomes of such encounters. Furthermore, it is not clear if biased risk perception is specific to an individual's fear or generalized to all negative events. In an o ...[more]

PMID: 31417450

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Project description:Inflammation occurs as an immediate protective response of the immune system to a harmful stimulus, whether locally confined or systemic. In contrast, a persisting, i.e., chronic, inflammatory state, even at a low-grade, is a well-known risk factor in the development of common diseases like diabetes or atherosclerosis. In clinical practice, laboratory markers like high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), white blood cell count (WBC), and fibrinogen, are used to reveal inflammatory processes. In order to gain a deeper insight regarding inflammation-related changes in metabolism, the present study assessed the metabolic patterns associated with alterations in inflammatory markers.Based on mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy we determined a comprehensive panel of 613 plasma and 587 urine metabolites among 925 apparently healthy individuals. Associations between inflammatory markers, namely hsCRP, WBC, and fibrinogen, and metabolite levels were tested by linear regression analyses controlling for common confounders. Additionally, we tested for a discriminative signature of an advanced inflammatory state using random forest analysis.HsCRP, WBC, and fibrinogen were significantly associated with 71, 20, and 19 plasma and 22, 3, and 16 urine metabolites, respectively. Identified metabolites were related to the bradykinin system, involved in oxidative stress (e.g., glutamine or pipecolate) or linked to the urea cycle (e.g., ornithine or citrulline). In particular, urine 3'-sialyllactose was found as a novel metabolite related to inflammation. Prediction of an advanced inflammatory state based solely on 10 metabolites was well feasible (median AUC: 0.83).Comprehensive metabolic profiling confirmed the far-reaching impact of inflammatory processes on human metabolism. The identified metabolites included not only those already described as immune-modulatory but also completely novel patterns. Moreover, the observed alterations provide molecular links to inflammation-associated diseases like diabetes or cardiovascular disorders.

Dataset Information

What's the Risk? Fearful Individuals Generally Overestimate Negative Outcomes and They Dread Outcomes of Specific Events.

Publications

What's the Risk? Fearful Individuals Generally Overestimate Negative Outcomes and They Dread Outcomes of Specific Events.

Similar Datasets

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