RESEARCH
My research is focused on better understanding how people react to highly negative life events, such as being physically or sexually assaulted or experiencing the death of a loved one. For many, the pain and disruption associated with these events subsides over time. However, for some, the pain and suffering remain persistently elevated for years after the event. My research aims to understand these distinct responses to loss and trauma. I am especially interested in better understanding the factors that lead to the development and maintenance of emotional disorders following loss and trauma and using that knowledge to improve our ability to identify and support those who suffer most following these negative life events. Guided by these aims, I am currently conducting several lines of research, some of which are described below.
Network Analysis of Mental Disorders |
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Most research
on psychopathology has operated from a latent construct perspective whereby symptoms
of mental disorders are presumed to arise from and reflect the presence of an underlying
latent disease. However, there are severe statistical and ontological limitations to this approach. The network approach (Borsboom & Cramer, 2013) provides an alternative that does not suffer from limitations inherent in the latent construct approach. From this perspective, mental disorders are viewed as networks of mutually reinforcing symptoms. The symptoms of mental disorders neither reflect nor result from a latent entity. Rather, the symptoms themselves constitute the disorder and they cohere as a syndrome because of the causal relations among them.
The network approach has far reaching implications for how we understand and study mental disorders. Along with my collaborators at Harvard University and the University of Amsterdam, I am currently pursuing three lines of research in the domain of the network approach to psychopathology. First, I am using network analysis and non-linear dynamics to better understand the structure of psychopathology following loss and trauma. I am especially focused on using intra-individual time series analysis to evaluate symptom-to-symptom relationships as they unfold over time within individuals. These findings will allow us to map network structures within an individual and will inform our understanding of how networks become activated (i.e., etiology) and deactivated (i.e., natural or treatment-assisted recovery) following loss or trauma. Second, I am studying biological, psychological, and social risk factors influence mental disorder networks. I am especially interested in using brief targeted interventions to modify individual symptoms in order to evaluate the downstream effects of those modifications on the rest of the network, thereby clarifying both the etiological pathway of the risk factor and the role of the individual symptom in the broader syndrome. Finally, I am working toward developing a network-informed personalized medicine approach to the treatment of mental disorders in which a patient's pre-treatment baseline data will be used to create a model of that patient's mental disorder network; a model which can then be used to simulate how the perturbation of a given network element (e.g., the reduction of a specific symptom) will affect the broader network, thereby identifying interventions that will produce the most rapid and sustained collapse of the mental disorder network.
Sample Publications
McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Wu, G. W., Wang, L., Deserno, M. & Borsboom, D. (In Press). Mental disorders as causal systems: A network approach to posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychological Science. doi: 10.1177/2167702614553230.
Robinaugh, D. J., Leblanc, N. J., Vuletich, H. A., & McNally, R. J. (2014). Network analysis of persistent complex bereavement disorder in conjugally bereaved adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123, 510-522. doi: 10.1037/abn0000002
The network approach has far reaching implications for how we understand and study mental disorders. Along with my collaborators at Harvard University and the University of Amsterdam, I am currently pursuing three lines of research in the domain of the network approach to psychopathology. First, I am using network analysis and non-linear dynamics to better understand the structure of psychopathology following loss and trauma. I am especially focused on using intra-individual time series analysis to evaluate symptom-to-symptom relationships as they unfold over time within individuals. These findings will allow us to map network structures within an individual and will inform our understanding of how networks become activated (i.e., etiology) and deactivated (i.e., natural or treatment-assisted recovery) following loss or trauma. Second, I am studying biological, psychological, and social risk factors influence mental disorder networks. I am especially interested in using brief targeted interventions to modify individual symptoms in order to evaluate the downstream effects of those modifications on the rest of the network, thereby clarifying both the etiological pathway of the risk factor and the role of the individual symptom in the broader syndrome. Finally, I am working toward developing a network-informed personalized medicine approach to the treatment of mental disorders in which a patient's pre-treatment baseline data will be used to create a model of that patient's mental disorder network; a model which can then be used to simulate how the perturbation of a given network element (e.g., the reduction of a specific symptom) will affect the broader network, thereby identifying interventions that will produce the most rapid and sustained collapse of the mental disorder network.
Sample Publications
McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Wu, G. W., Wang, L., Deserno, M. & Borsboom, D. (In Press). Mental disorders as causal systems: A network approach to posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychological Science. doi: 10.1177/2167702614553230.
Robinaugh, D. J., Leblanc, N. J., Vuletich, H. A., & McNally, R. J. (2014). Network analysis of persistent complex bereavement disorder in conjugally bereaved adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123, 510-522. doi: 10.1037/abn0000002
Bereavement & Complicated Grief
Complicated
grief (also known as prolonged grief or persistent complex bereavement disorder) is a
syndrome of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that arise together
following the death of a loved one and persist over time at a level
sufficient to provoke significant distress and impairment. Over the past several decades, our understanding of complicated grief has advanced substantially.
However, fundamental questions regarding the nature of the syndrome,
its core features, and the factors that contribute to its maintenance
remain unanswered. My research on complicated grief is principally aimed at understanding (a) the nature of the individual elements of the complicated grief syndrome and the relationships among those elements, (b) factors that increase risk for developing complicated grief following a loss, and (c) improving treatment for complicated grief.
Sample Publications
Robinaugh, D. J., Leblanc, N. J., Vuletich, H. A., & McNally, R. J. (2014). Network analysis of persistent complex bereavement disorder in conjugally bereaved adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123, 510-522. doi: 10.1037/abn0000002
Robinaugh, D. J., Marques, L., Bui, E. & Simon, N. M. (2012). Recognizing and treating complicated grief. Current Psychiatry, 11, 30-35.
Sample Publications
Robinaugh, D. J., Leblanc, N. J., Vuletich, H. A., & McNally, R. J. (2014). Network analysis of persistent complex bereavement disorder in conjugally bereaved adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123, 510-522. doi: 10.1037/abn0000002
Robinaugh, D. J., Marques, L., Bui, E. & Simon, N. M. (2012). Recognizing and treating complicated grief. Current Psychiatry, 11, 30-35.
Envisioning the Future
Bereaved adults struggling with the death of a loved one often report a subjective sense that their future is empty, hopeless, or absent. In an ongoing line of research, I am working to better understand this difficulty envisioning the future using techniques developed in the fields of clinical psychological science and cognitive neuroscience. My work, to date, suggests that bereaved adults with complicated grief have difficulty imagining specific events in the future and, in particular, difficulty envisioning future events that are distinct from events they've experienced in the past. Building on these findings, my current work in this area is focused on examining whether interventions that directly target the ability to imagine the future can lead to reduced hopelessness and grief in bereaved adults continuing to struggle with the loss.
Sample Publications
McNally, R.J. & Robinaugh, D. J. (2014). Difficulties remembering the past and envisioning the future in people with complicated grief and trauma histories. (Eds.) In Bernsten, D. & Watson, L. A. Clinical Perspectives on Autobiographical Memory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Robinaugh, D. J. & McNally, R. J. (2013). Remembering the past and envisioning the future in bereaved adults with and without complicated grief. Clinical Psychological Science, 3, 290-300. doi: 10.1177/2167702613476027.
Sample Publications
McNally, R.J. & Robinaugh, D. J. (2014). Difficulties remembering the past and envisioning the future in people with complicated grief and trauma histories. (Eds.) In Bernsten, D. & Watson, L. A. Clinical Perspectives on Autobiographical Memory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Robinaugh, D. J. & McNally, R. J. (2013). Remembering the past and envisioning the future in bereaved adults with and without complicated grief. Clinical Psychological Science, 3, 290-300. doi: 10.1177/2167702613476027.
Trauma & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that arises following traumatic or highly aversive life events, such as combat, assault, or rape. In my research, I am working to better understand the biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to the maintenance of PTSD symptoms over time. I am especially interested in the interaction between social factors (e.g., social support provided by friends and family; feeling of social isolation) and cognitive factors (e.g., negative beliefs about oneself or the world) following trauma and how those factors work together to increase risk for persistent and impairing PTSD symptoms.
Sample Publications
McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Wu, G. W., Wang, L., Deserno, M. & Borsboom, D. (In Press). Mental disorders as causal systems: A network approach to posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychological Science. doi: 10.1177/2167702614553230.
Robinaugh, D. J., Marques, L., Sung, S. C, Traeger, L., Marks, E. H., Beck, J. G., Pollack, M. H., & Simon, N. M. (2011). Understanding the relationship of perceived social support to post-trauma cognitions and posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 1072-1078. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.07.004.
Sample Publications
McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Wu, G. W., Wang, L., Deserno, M. & Borsboom, D. (In Press). Mental disorders as causal systems: A network approach to posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychological Science. doi: 10.1177/2167702614553230.
Robinaugh, D. J., Marques, L., Sung, S. C, Traeger, L., Marks, E. H., Beck, J. G., Pollack, M. H., & Simon, N. M. (2011). Understanding the relationship of perceived social support to post-trauma cognitions and posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 1072-1078. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.07.004.
Remembering Trauma
Intrusive
memories of a traumatic event are a core element of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and
feature prominently in theories of the disorder’s etiology. Perhaps the longest standing theory about the etiology of PTSD that remains widely held today is the notion that one must integrate the trauma into one's identity and autobiographical memory in order to successfully recover from the effects of trauma. In this line of research, I am testing this theory by examining the relationship between trauma memory integration and PTSD severity. Over the past several years, I, and others, have found that greater integration is, in fact, associated with greater PTSD severity. Building on these findings, I am currently working to examine whether reducing trauma memory integration can reduce PTSD severity in adults who have experienced trauma.
Sample Publications
Robinaugh, D. J. & McNally, R. J. (2011). Trauma centrality and PTSD symptom severity in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24, 483-486. doi: 10.1002/jts.20656.
Robinaugh, D. J. & McNally, R. J. (2010). Autobiographical memory for shame or guilt provoking events: Association with psychological symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 646-652. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2010.03.017.
Sample Publications
Robinaugh, D. J. & McNally, R. J. (2011). Trauma centrality and PTSD symptom severity in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24, 483-486. doi: 10.1002/jts.20656.
Robinaugh, D. J. & McNally, R. J. (2010). Autobiographical memory for shame or guilt provoking events: Association with psychological symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 646-652. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2010.03.017.
Reducing Cognitive Vulnerabilities for Emotional Disorders
In recent years, psychologists have created several simple computer tasks that, by having people repeatedly practice responding to emotional information in particular ways, are capable of instilling a favorable, psychologically healthy, cognitive processing bias. Inspired by this approach, my colleagues and I developed a working memory bias modification task in which optimal performance can be achieved by initially attending to both positive and negative words and, subsequently, removing negative words from working memory to facilitate the retention of neutral and positive words. Our preliminary examination of this task suggests that it can improve the ability to remove negative information from working memory in favor of retaining neutral or positive information. In the future, I hope to build upon these findings to examine whether completion of this task can improve the ability to disengage from negative ruminative thoughts in adults with emotions disorders, such as depression, complicated grief, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sample Publications
Robinaugh, D. J., Crane, M.E., Enock, P., McNally, R. J. (In Press). Training the removal of negative information from working memory: A preliminary investigation of a working memory bias modification task. Cognition & Emotion. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2015.1014312.
Sample Publications
Robinaugh, D. J., Crane, M.E., Enock, P., McNally, R. J. (In Press). Training the removal of negative information from working memory: A preliminary investigation of a working memory bias modification task. Cognition & Emotion. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2015.1014312.
Photos by Renu Parkhi, Phil Parsons, and Jeff Kubina
