Repetitive thought (RT) involves frequent or prolonged thoughts about oneself and one's world, encompassing discrete forms such as trait worry, rumination, processing, and reminiscing. These forms of RT can be described using three basic, underlying qualities: total propensity for RT of all types, valence (positive versus negative content), and purpose (searching or uncertainty versus solving or certainty). The adaptiveness of discrete forms with regard to health is likely to be related to these qualities, particularly valence and total propensity. The present study confirmed the model and identified the relationship of these qualities of RT to subjective psychological, physical, and cognitive health in older adults aged 60-94 (N = 179). As predicted, more negatively valenced trait RT was associated with worse psychological, physical, and cognitive health. More total propensity for RT was associated only with worse psychological health. Searching purpose was associated only with worse cognitive health. In turn, negatively valenced RT was predicted by poorer executive functions, suggesting that such functions may be important for directing this quality of RT. The valence of older adults' RT is important insofar as it may contribute to their sense of good or ill health. However, the propensity for all kinds of RT to associate with poorer psychological health may reflect the co-occurrence of negative and positive RT, such as rumination and emotional processing. Although RT has not been extensively investigated in older adults, it appears to play an important role in their subjective health. Keywordsworry; rumination; processing; health; executive functions Repetitive thought (RT), defined as "the process of thinking attentively, repetitively, or frequently about oneself and one's world" is an important determinant of psychological and physical well-being (Segerstrom, Stanton, Alden, & Shortridge, 2003, p. 909). Forms of RT such as worry and rumination both contemporaneously and prospectively increase negative mood states such as anxiety and depression and dysregulate physiological systems such as the cardiovascular and immune systems (e.g., Kubzansky, Kawachi, Spiro, Weiss, Vokonas, & Sparrow, 1997;Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991;Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991;Pieper, Correspondence should be addressed to Suzanne C. Segerstrom, Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 115 Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0044. Segerstrom@uky.edu . Publisher's Disclaimer: The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/pubs/journals/pag NIH Public Access Author Manu...

Chronic stressors such as caregiving have been associated with reduced antibody production after vaccination and elevated interleukin (IL)-6 in older adults. However, individual differences in repetitive thought, that is, frequent or prolonged thought about oneself and one's world, can modify perception and effects of stress. For example, worry during stressful circumstances has been associated with poorer immune outcomes, whereas cognitive processing has been associated with better outcomes. The present study tested the relationship of caregiving and two types of repetitive thought, negative (e.g., worry) and neutral (e.g., reflection), to pre- and post-influenza vaccine antibody and IL-6. Dementia caregivers (n=14) and controls (n=30) were interviewed and had blood drawn pre- and post-vaccine in a multi-wave study. Multi-level models found that caregivers had higher IL-6 than controls after vaccination (t(23)=2.36, p<.05). There were several interactions between caregiver status and repetitive thought in predicting both depression and immune responses to vaccination. Among caregivers, negative repetitive thought predicted more depression and lower antibody titers, whereas neutral repetitive thought predicted less depression and higher antibody titers, but also higher post-vaccination IL-6. Among controls, negative repetitive thought predicted more depression but higher antibody titers, whereas neutral repetitive thought predicted less depression and lower post-vaccination IL-6. In mediational tests, depression did not account for the effects of repetitive thought. Results generally support beneficial effects of neutral repetitive thought and detrimental effects of negative repetitive thought, but those effects may be reduced or even reversed depending on life circumstances.

In a cross-validation of results from L. O. Graue et al. (2007), standard psychological assessment instruments, as well as tests of neurocognitive and psychiatric feigning, were administered under standard instructions to 24 participants diagnosed with mild mental retardation (MR) and 10 demographically matched community volunteers (CVH). A 2nd group of 25 community volunteers was instructed to malinger MR (CVM) during testing. CVM participants obtained Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed.; D. Wechsler, 1997) Full Scale Intelligence Quotient scores that were significantly lower than the demographically similar CVH group but comparable to the MR group, suggesting that CVM subjects feigned cognitive impairment. On the basis of standard cutting scores from test manuals or published articles, of the 11 feigning measures administered, only the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM; T. N. Tombaugh, 1996) retention trial had a specificity rate >.90 in the MR group. However, the 2nd learning trial of the TOMM, as well as a short form of the Digit Memory Test (T. J. Guilmette, K. J. Hart, A. J. Guiliano, & B. E. Leininger, 1994), approached this level of specificity, with both at .88. These results raise concerns about the specificity rates at recommended cutting scores of commonly used feigning tests in defendants with MR.

Law students show significant deficits in emotional and physical well-being compared with groups of students in other areas of higher education. Furthermore, evidence suggests that these effects may be worse for women than for men. The use of active coping can positively affect immunity under stress, but this may be most true for men in the context of law school. The current study examined the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin responses of first year law students (n=121) and a comparison group (n=30). Students' health behaviors, self-evaluative emotions, and coping strategies were also reported. Male law students had larger DTH responses than females, but this gender effect was not present in the comparison group. Endorsement of perseverance under stress (n = 19), an active coping strategy, moderated the gender effect on immunity. Perseverance associated with larger DTH responses and more positive self-evaluative emotion, but only among men. These results indicate that active coping may be less efficacious for women than for men in law school, which in turn may limit women's opportunities to attenuate negative effects of law school.

Feigned-symptom reports have become of increasing interest in recent years, in part because the results of psychological evaluations are more widely accepted in legal proceedings. This article examines several pertinent issues regarding assessment of malingering, including methodological concerns, base rates of feigning, and coaching to avoid detection. It evaluates several frequently used measures of malingering, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology, Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test, and Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS). The article provides cutting scores, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive powers at various base rates of feigning. After the SIRS, the feigning scales of the MMPI-2 have the most support for malingering detection, followed by the PAI scales. Generally, all measures reviewed showed greater negative predictive power rates; thus, a two-stage sequential process for malingering detection is discussed.