Leiden University Student Repository

Bonné, Gwendoline (2026)

Subjective distress in a stressful memory recall task: comparing an exposure intervention, a cognitive restructuring intervention, and emotion regulation

Bachelor thesis | Psychologie (BSc)

Exposure-based and cognitive interventions are both effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), however little is known about how these two treatments can differ in subjective distress during a brief intervention. The present study examined differences in subjective distress during a single-session analogue intervention based on imaginal exposure (IE) or cognitive restructuring (CR), and whether emotion regulation skills had an influence on the subjective distress. A total of 122 participants recalled a stressful autobiographic memory and were randomly assigned into an IE or CR recall intervention, which was repeated twice. Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) were assessed at baseline, pre-intervention, and during the intervention. The results showed a significant decrease of the distress during the intervention. The SUD score was significantly lower in the CR condition compared to the IE condition after the intervention. There was no significant effect of emotion...Show moreExposure-based and cognitive interventions are both effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), however little is known about how these two treatments can differ in subjective distress during a brief intervention. The present study examined differences in subjective distress during a single-session analogue intervention based on imaginal exposure (IE) or cognitive restructuring (CR), and whether emotion regulation skills had an influence on the subjective distress. A total of 122 participants recalled a stressful autobiographic memory and were randomly assigned into an IE or CR recall intervention, which was repeated twice. Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) were assessed at baseline, pre-intervention, and during the intervention. The results showed a significant decrease of the distress during the intervention. The SUD score was significantly lower in the CR condition compared to the IE condition after the intervention. There was no significant effect of emotion regulation skills on distress levels or condition over time. These findings suggests that in a single-session intervention cognitive restructuring is associated with lower levels of distress than imaginal exposure without a direct influence of emotion regulation skills.Show less

Author

Bonné, Gwendoline

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Supervisors

Voogd, L. de

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en