375 Thought Control Strategies and Insomnia Severity in young-adult urban residing African Americans

Introduction Poor sleep is common in our society, particularly for African Americans. Unwanted, intrusive thoughts at bedtime contribute to sleep disturbances, and the nature of intrusive thoughts may be influenced by perception of threat among people living in stressful urban environments. Research has suggested that strategies to control intrusive thoughts vary in their adaptiveness and may be modifiable. These findings need to be confirmed in populations residing in stressful urban environments where perceived threats contribute to intrusive thoughts.The present study attempts to replicate prior research examining the relationship between thought control strategies and insomnia in urban residing young-adult African Americans. Methods Sixty-three young-adult African Americans completed the Thought Control Questionnaire for Insomnia-Revised and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Results Thought control strategies previously associated with insomnia were significantly correlated with the ISI (aggressive suppression r=0.51, p<0.01 social avoidance r=0.32, p<.01, behavioral distraction r=0.386, p<0.01 and worry r=0.51, p<0.01). We did not find significant associations between the thought control strategy previously associated with healthy sleep and the ISI (cognitive distraction r= 0.20, p>0.05). In a grouped comparison between good sleepers and those with insomnia worry was the only subscale that was endorsed significantly greater among those with insomnia (t(61)=-2.91, p<.05) Conclusion These preliminary data replicate prior findings that suggest that aggressive suppression and worry are maladaptive thought control strategies. in a young-adult African American sample. Future research with a larger sample is needed to identify strategies that can improve sleep in this population. Support (if any) 5R01HL136626 from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

Lay Theories of the Wandering Mind: Control-Related Beliefs Predict Mind Wandering Rates in- and outside the Lab

People often fail to keep their mind from wandering. Here, we examine how the tendency to mind wander is affected by people’s beliefs, or lay theories. Building on research on lay theories and self-regulation, we test whether differences in people’s beliefs about the extent to which mind wandering is controllable affect thought control strategies and mind-wandering rates in daily life and the laboratory. We develop a new scale to assess control-related beliefs about mind wandering. Scores on the scale predict mind wandering (Study 1) and intrusive thoughts (Study 2) in everyday life, thought control strategies and dysfunctional responses to unwanted thoughts (Study 2), and mind wandering during reading in the laboratory (Studies 3–6). Moreover, experimentally induced lay theories affect mind-wandering rates during reading (Studies 4 and 5). Finally, the effectiveness of strategies people can use to reduce their mind wandering depends on their lay theories (Studies 2 and 6).

IRRATIONAL BELIEFS AND THOUGHT CONTROL STRATEGIES AS PREDICTORS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS IN A SAMPLE OF KINDERGARTEN SECTION STUDENTS AT PRINCE SATTAM UNIVERSITY

Purpose of the study: This study aimed to investigate the possibility of predicting psychological stress through both irrational beliefs and thought control strategies. Methodology: This study relied on a predictive-qualitative approach, under which the following psychometric measures were applied administered to a sample of 200 university students selected by the stratified random method: (1) Perceived stress scale (PSS),(2) Metacognitive beliefs Questionnaire (MCQ), and (3) thought control strategies scale(TCQ) on a sample of (200) university students, chosen by the stratified random method, and the researchers used a number of statistical methods such as correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis, and path analysis. Main Findings: The results of the study revealed the possibility of predicting perceived Stress through the following Metacognitive beliefs, and also revealed the possibility of predicting perceived Stresses through the following thought control strategies. Applications of this study: Results concluded from the study may be beneficial to centers and units of psychological and academic counseling at universities, especially in terms of providing effective, preventive, and curative counseling services that focus on the real causes behind the spread of psychological stress. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study presented a structural model that identifies the pathways that characterize the relationship between perceived stress and the strategies of controlling thought and metacognitive beliefs.