Background: The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is the most widely and frequently used scale to assess positive and negative affect. The PANAS has been validated in several languages, and it has shown excellent psychometric properties in the general population and some clinical samples, such as forensic samples, substance users, and adult women with fibromyalgia. Nevertheless, the psychometric properties of the scale have not yet been examined in clinical samples with anxiety, depressive, and adjustment disorders. In addition, the proliferation of Internet-based treatments has led to the development of a wide range of assessments conducted online with digital versions of pen and paper self-report questionnaires. However, no validations have been carried out to analyze the psychometric properties of the online version of the PANAS. The present study investigates the psychometric properties of the online Spanish version of the PANAS in a clinical sample of individuals with emotional disorders.Methods: The sample was composed of 595 Spanish adult volunteers with a diagnosis of depressive disorder (n = 237), anxiety disorder (n = 284), or adjustment disorder (n = 74). Factor structure, construct validity, internal consistency, and sensitivity to change were analyzed.Results: Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a latent structure of two independent factors, consistent with previous validations of the instrument. The analyses showed adequate convergent and discriminant validity, good internal consistency as well as sensitivity to change.Conclusions: Overall, the results obtained in this study show that the online version of the PANAS has adequate psychometric properties for the assessment of positive and negative affect in a Spanish clinical population.

An important concern in Internet-based treatments (IBTs) for emotional disorders is the high dropout rate from these protocols. Although dropout rates are usually reported in research studies, very few studies qualitatively explore the experiences of patients who drop out of IBTs. Examining the experiences of these clients may help to find ways to tackle this problem. A Consensual Qualitative Research study was applied in 10 intentionally-selected patients who dropped out of a transdiagnostic IBT. 22 categories were identified within 6 domains. Among the clients an undeniable pattern arose regarding the insufficient support due to the absence of a therapist and the lack of specificity of the contents to their own problems. The analyzed content has direct impact on the clinical application of IBTs. A more tailored manage of expectations as well as strategies to enhance the therapeutic relationship in certain clients are identified as the two key elements in order to improve the dropout in IBTs. Going further, in the mid and long run, ideographic interventions would be vital. The present study permits to better grasp the phenomenon of dropout in IBTs and delineate specific implications both in terms of research, training and practice.

The Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) is a self-report questionnaire designed to evaluate the severity and functional impairment associated with anxiety. Given its transdiagnostic nature, it can be used indistinctly across anxiety and depressive disorders. In this study, the psychometric properties of the online version of the OASIS were evaluated in a Spanish clinical sample with emotional disorders. Patients (n = 583) with anxiety (n = 250) and depression (n = 333) with a mean age of 37.21 (SD = 12.22), underwent a diagnostic interview and questionnaires assessing anxiety, depression, positive and negative affect, and quality of life. Factorial structure, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity, cutoff scores, and sensitivity to change were analyzed. Confirmatory Factor Analysis yielded a unidimensional factor structure, consistent with previous validations of the instrument. The analyses showed good internal consistency and adequate convergent and discriminant validity, as well as sensitivity to change. A cutoff score of 7.5 was found to meet the criteria used in this study to select the optimal cutoff point. Overall, in this study, the psychometric properties of the online version of the OASIS were found to be appropriate. The brevity and ease of use of the OASIS support its adequacy as a valid measure of anxiety severity and impairment in Spanish clinical samples with anxiety and depression.

Background: Anxiety disorders and depression (emotional disorders) are highly prevalent mental disorders. Extensive empirical evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of these disorders. However, there are still some barriers related to their dissemination and implementation, which make it difficult for patients to receive these treatments, especially in public health care settings where resources are limited. Recent advances in improving CBT dissemination encompass different perspectives. One is the transdiagnostic approach, which offers treatment protocols that can be used for a range of emotional disorders. Another approach is the use of the internet to reach a larger number of people who could benefit from CBT. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness and acceptability of a transdiagnostic internet-delivered protocol (EmotionRegulation) with human and automated guidance in patients from public specialized mental health care settings. Methods: A 2-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to compare the effectiveness of EmotionRegulation with treatment as usual (TAU) in specialized mental health care. In all, 214 participants were randomly assigned to receive either EmotionRegulation (n=106) or TAU (n=108). Measurement assessments were conducted at pre- and postintervention and at a 3-month follow-up. Results: The results revealed the superiority of EmotionRegulation over TAU on measures of depression (d=0.41), anxiety (d=0.35), and health-related quality of life (d=−0.45) at posttreatment, and these gains were maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Furthermore, the results for expectations and opinions showed that EmotionRegulation was well accepted by participants. Conclusions: EmotionRegulation was more effective than TAU for the treatment of emotional disorders in the Spanish public mental health system. The implications of this RCT, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02345668; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02345668

Background: Emotional disorders (EDs) are among the most prevalent mental disorders. Existing evidence-based psychological treatments are not sufficient to reduce the disease burden of mental disorders. It is therefore essential to implement innovative solutions to achieve a successful dissemination of psychological treatment protocols, and in this regard, the use of information and communication technologies such as the internet can be very useful. Furthermore, the literature suggests that not everyone with an ED receives the appropriate treatment. This situation has led to the development of new intervention proposals based on the transdiagnostic perspective, which attempts to address the underlying processes common to EDs. Most of these transdiagnostic interventions focus primarily on downregulating negative affectivity (NA), and less attention has been paid to strengths and the upregulation of positive affectivity, despite its importance for well-being and mental health. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a transdiagnostic internet-based treatment for EDs in a community sample. Methods: A 3-armed randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 216 participants were randomly assigned to a transdiagnostic internet-based protocol (TIBP), a TIBP+ positive affect (PA) component, or a waiting list (WL) control group. The treatment protocol contained core components mainly addressed to downregulate NA (ie, present-focused emotional awareness and acceptance, cognitive flexibility, behavioral and emotional avoidance patterns, and interoceptive and situational exposure) as well as a PA regulation component to promote psychological strengths and enhance well-being. Data on depression, anxiety, quality of life, neuroticism and extraversion, and PA/NA before and after treatment were analyzed. Expectations and opinions of treatment were also analyzed. Results: Within-group comparisons indicated significant pre-post reductions in the two experimental conditions. In the TIBP+PA condition, the effect sizes were large for all primary outcomes (d=1.42, Beck Depression Inventory [BDI-II]; d=0.91, Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI]; d=1.27, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Positive [PANAS-P]; d=1.26, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Negative [PANAS-N]), whereas the TIBP condition yielded large effect sizes for BDI-II (d=1.19) and PANAS-N (d=1.28) and medium effect sizes for BAI (d=0.63) and PANAS-P (d=0.69). Between-group comparisons revealed that participants who received one of the two active treatments scored better at posttreatment than WL participants. Although there were no statistically significant differences between the two intervention groups on the PA measure, effect sizes were consistently larger in the TIBP+PA condition than in the standard transdiagnostic protocol. Conclusions: Overall, the findings indicate that EDs can be effectively treated with a transdiagnostic intervention via the internet, as significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and quality of life measures were observed. Regarding PA measures, promising effects were found, but more research is needed to study the role of PA as a therapeutic component. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02578758; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02578758 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): RR2-10.1186/s12888-017-1297-z