Rebecca A Bryant
Biographic Data
| ID | 683600 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rebecca A Bryant |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rebecca A |
| FAMILY NAME | Bryant |
| SIGNATURE | BRYANT R A |
| AFFILIATIONS | UNSW Sydney |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9607-819X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 94 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 57 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 94 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1990 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Factors associated with increased preparedness for future bushfires after exposure to a severe bushfire in Australia
When recurrent hazards are exacerbated by climate change, the recovery process from one hazard is closely linked to the preparedness for subsequent events. This study investigated associations of long-term bushfire preparedness after previous bushfire exposure, focusing on the Protective Action Decision Model and considering mental health as an additional explanatory variable. Participants included a sample from the Beyond Bushfire study which wa…
Acceptability of an e-mental health self-help intervention aiming to improve psychological distress among persons experiencing unstable housing in France
Psychosocial problems, daily functioning and help-seeking behaviour of international migrant workers in the Netherlands
International migrant workers (IMWs) may face insecure work and housing, limited access to healthcare and increased risk of psychological problems. Two scalable, evidence-based interventions to support individuals experiencing psychological distress are Doing What Matters in Times of Stress (DWM) and Problem Management Plus (PM+). This study aimed to explore IMWs’ problems, daily functioning and help-seeking behaviour, to inform cultural adaptati…
Examining the associations between trauma intrusions, emotion regulation, and affect among European Australian and Chinese Australian trauma survivors using ecological momentary assessment
Momentary intrusions were associated with diverse emotion regulation strategy use and moderated associations between emotion regulation strategy use and affect. Importantly, cultural group moderated some of these associations, suggesting the use of emotion regulation strategies is not universal. The findings highlight the importance of considering cultural context in trauma treatment and a need for further research in this area. (PsycInfo Databas…
Longitudinal Associations Between Sources of Uncertainty and Mental Health Amongst Resettled Refugees During the Covid-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic may have disproportionately affected forcibly displaced people due to parallel uncertainties such as visa insecurity and family separation. This study explicitly examined whether different sources of uncertainty contributed in specific ways to increased psychological symptoms for refugees during the pandemic. A large cohort of 733 refugees and asylum seekers settled in Australia completed a mental health survey in June 2020 …
Digital phenotypes of the diminished capacity for consummatory and anticipatory pleasure
Diminished capacities to experience and anticipate pleasure have been differentially associated with psychopathology. However, measurement of this construct has been limited to self-report scales and complex behavioral tasks. In the present study, university students ( N = 100) were categorized into low and high scorers on self-report measures of consummatory and anticipatory pleasure. Low and high scorers were then compared on the facial, vocal,…
Facilitators and barriers to participation and scale-up of a non-specialist delivered psychological intervention for adolescents in low-resourced settings
Globally, the number of refugees and displaced individuals has surpassed 100 million for the first time in history. Refugees are more likely than non-refugee populations to experience psychological distress and develop mental disorders. Early Adolescent Skills for Emotion (EASE), developed by the World Health Organization, is a potentially scalable task-sharing intervention targeting symptoms of internalizing disorders such as depression and anxi…
Naturalistic Evaluation of HeadGear
Mobile health (mHealth) apps have the potential to expand access to evidence-based interventions for mental health conditions, including depression. HeadGear was developed to prevent depression and improve well-being among the working population and was associated with significant positive effects in an efficacy trial. This study presents the results from a naturalistic trial intended to evaluate real-world usage of the app. We examined the natur…
Piloting competency assessments for an evidence-based brief psychological intervention with Arabic-speaking non-specialists in Switzerland
The global challenge of closing the treatment gap highlights the need for innovative interventions. Problem Management Plus (PM+), developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), is an evidence-based brief psychological intervention designed to address this gap by involving non-specialist helpers. In this study, ‘non-specialists’ or ‘helpers’ are individuals without formal training in mental health, who have been trained in and have been delive…
Context, implementation and mechanisms of impact of a stepped-care WHO psychological intervention for migrants with psychological distress
Migrants often experience psychological distress due to pre-, peri- and post-migration stressors. Scalable interventions like Doing What Matters in Times of Stress (DWM) and Problem Management Plus (PM+) have been developed to address these challenges. This study evaluates a stepped-care program combining DWM and PM+ for migrants in Italy, examining its context, implementation, and mechanisms of impact. A mixed-methods process evaluation was cond…
Psychological distress and online advice-seeking in times of Covid-19
Dimensionality of the Swahili version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in a Kenyan population
The current study evaluated the Kiswahili version of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in a Kenyan context comprising of women exposed to gender-based violence. Participants were randomly drawn from community sampling using household screening methods in peri-urban areas in Nairobi. A total of 1,394 participants with varying levels of literacy (years of education: mean [M] = 9.42; standard deviation [SD] = 3.73) and aged between 18 and 89 yea…
Addressing challenges faced by young refugees in the Netherlands
Young refugees face numerous challenges before, during, and after their journey, leading to higher rates of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. These problems often remain untreated due to barriers like limited services, stigma, and varied distress expressions. One effective scalable intervention that bridges this treatment gap is problem management plus (PM+), a transdiagnostic program delivered b…
Moral injury appraisals and complex PTSD in refugees
Findings highlight the role of moral injury appraisals in exacerbating traditional PTSD symptoms, as well as the broader symptoms characteristic of CPTSD. Further, results indicate that specific types of moral injury appraisals (relating to one's own and others' perceived moral transgressions) may lead to differential psychological reactions, raising important implications for clinical practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights …
The course of symptoms over time in people with posttraumatic stress disorder
The observed pattern of findings indicate that although PTSD diagnoses often remain consistent over time, the symptoms that comprise this diagnosis can fluctuate. Clinicians should be sensitive to the changing symptoms that PTSD patients can display over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Yoga resilience training to prevent the development of posttraumatic stress disorder in active-duty first responders
This workplace-delivered intervention shows potential in preventing the development of PTSD in first responders. Further research is needed on maintaining long-term benefits of this training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
A systematic review and meta-analysis of predictors of response to trauma-focused psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder
Scaling up task-sharing psychological interventions for refugees in Jordan
Training nonspecialists in providing evidence-based psychological interventions (i.e. task-sharing) can effectively increase community access to psychological support. However, task-sharing interventions for this purpose are rarely used at scale. The aim of this study was to examine the factors influencing the potential for scaling up (i.e. scalability) of a task-sharing psychological intervention called Problem Management Plus (PM+) for Syrian r…
Views and experiences of migrants and stakeholders involved in social and health care for migrants in Italy during the Covid-19 pandemic
Registration number 2021-UNVRCLE-0106707, February 11 2021
Opponent intrinsic brain network connectivity profiles associated with posttraumatic fear and dysphoria symptoms in trauma-exposed refugees
Fear and dysphoria posttraumatic symptoms showed opponent associations with admDMN and tpDMN connectivity, potentially reflecting patterns of under- and overemotion dysregulation associated with these symptom profiles respectively. Findings highlight the importance of considering posttraumatic heterogeneity when constructing neural models of PTSD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Efficacy of a brief psychological intervention to reduce distress in healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic
This trial provides initial evidence that a brief psychological intervention delivered via videoconferencing results in significant reductions in mental health problems arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Booster sessions or digital tools may be needed to maintain the initial gains achieved by RECHARGE. This intervention may have utility in improving the mental health of HCWs both during pandemics and everyday stressors. (PsycInfo Database Reco…
Addressing mental health problems among persons without stable housing in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic
this randomised trial has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under the number NCT05033210
Are we equally at risk of changing smoking behavior during a public health crisis? Impact of educational level on smoking from the Tempo cohort
Current findings showed a widening of the social inequality gap in relation to smoking rates, underscoring the increased vulnerability of persons with low educational level to smoking and the likely inadequate focus on social inequalities in relation to tobacco control policies during the pandemic
Mental health problems and needs of frontline healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic in Spain
Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) from COVID-19 hotspots worldwide have reported poor mental health outcomes since the pandemic's beginning. The virulence of the initial COVID-19 surge in Spain and the urgency for rapid evidence constrained early studies in their capacity to inform mental health programs accurately. Here, we used a qualitative research design to describe relevant mental health problems among frontline HCWs and explore their a…
Impact of work arrangements during the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health in France
Symptoms of anxiety/depression were found in 28.8% of the participants at least once.•Unemployment and financial difficulties were associated with anxiety/depression.•Targeted mental health support could lessen mental health impact
Worry, worry attacks, and PTSD among Cambodian refugees
The effect of group involvement on post-disaster mental health
Dreams of the Dead Among Cambodian Refugees
The authors investigated the importance of dreams of the deceased in the experiencing of prolonged grief (PG) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Cambodian refugees who survived the Pol Pot genocide (1975-1979). Such dreams were frequent in the last month (52% of those surveyed), and most often involved a relative who died in the Pol Pot period. Past month frequency was correlated with PG severity (r = .59) and PTSD severity (r = .52).…
Stressors and Supports in Postdisaster Recovery
Many studies show that long-term poor mental health outcomes for disaster-affected people are predicted by postdisaster stressors. Despite this finding, existing recovery frameworks vary in how these stressors are conceptualised. This paper examines community members’ subjective perceptions of what they found problematic and useful in their recoveries after the Australian 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, and considers them in the light of these fra…
A mixed-method study of expert psychological evidence submitted for a cohort of asylum seekers undergoing refugee status determination in Australia
Conceptualising Post-Disaster Recovery
In the disaster literature, psycho-social recovery is conceptualised typically as the alleviation of traumatic stress, with the alleviation of disaster-related grief as a less prominent part of this. Yet, incorporating grief understandings into recovery conceptualisations post disaster is important. This paper explores these conceptualisations by analysing participants' bereavement experiences following the Black Saturday bushfires. It draws on d…
Evaluation of the Dispositional Hope Scale in injury survivors
Atomic testing and post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric diagnosis that links a stressor to an anxiety reaction. It is increasingly the subject of compensation claims in Australian courts. A recent Federal Court decision ruled against an applicant's claim for PTSD arising from exposure to atomic testing in Maralinga in 1957. The legal definition of stressor is discussed in the context of this case and of recent developments in diagnostic criteria o…
The Assessment of Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder for Workers' Compensation in Emergency Service Personnel
There is considerable debate concerning the diagnosis of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in compensation claims. This study reviewed the quality of the assessment reports prepared by clinicians who evaluated 31 emergency service workers making PTSD‐related compensation claims. Assessments were conducted by 4‐year trained psychologists (39%), psychologists holding a masters degree (36%), and psychiatrists (19%). The assessment reports were e…
Public health implications of the microbial pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis
Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (B.t.-k) is a microbial pesticide which has been widely used for over 30 years. Its safety for a human population living in sprayed areas has never been tested. Surveillance for human infections caused by B.t.-k among Lane County, Oregon residents was conducted during two seasons of aerial B.t.-k spraying for gypsy moth control. Bacillus isolates from cultures obtained for routine clinical purposes were tested…
Public health implications of the microbial pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis
Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (B.t.-k) is a microbial pesticide which has been widely used for over 30 years. Its safety for a human population living in sprayed areas has never been tested. Surveillance for human infections caused by B.t.-k among Lane County, Oregon residents was conducted during two seasons of aerial B.t.-k spraying for gypsy moth control. Bacillus isolates from cultures obtained for routine clinical purposes were tested…
Hypnotic blindness and the relevance of cognitive style
Real, hypnotized and simulating, unhypnotized subjects were instructed to use either a constructive or a concentrative cognitive style when attempting to respond to a suggestion for hypnotic blindness; also, some subjects were administered the suggestion without any instructions about cognitive style. More reals who received the constructive rather than the concentrative instructions reported complete blindness; a similar number of simulators who…
Atomic testing and post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric diagnosis that links a stressor to an anxiety reaction. It is increasingly the subject of compensation claims in Australian courts. A recent Federal Court decision ruled against an applicant's claim for PTSD arising from exposure to atomic testing in Maralinga in 1957. The legal definition of stressor is discussed in the context of this case and of recent developments in diagnostic criteria o…
Acute stress disorder
The diagnosis of acute stress disorder (ASD) was introduced to describe initial trauma reactions that predict chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This review outlines and critiques the rationales underpinning the ASD diagnosis and highlights conceptual and empirical problems inherent in this diagnosis. The authors conclude that there is little justification for the ASD diagnosis in its present form. The evidence for and against the curr…
Shaking Things Up
Dancing was one of most popular American pastimes during 1910s and 1920s, and a multitude of new social dances developed, especially during 1910s. One of most talked-about dances of time was the shimmy. Developed from African American roots, shimmy was not really a dance in sense of having specific steps. Instead, it was defined by a rapid horizontal shaking of upper body, especially shoulders. Movements sometimes also included shaking of torso a…
Acute stress disorder
Seeing is believing
Elevated Resting Heart Rate as a Predictor of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
Objective: This study indexed the relationship between resting heart rates (HRs) after injury and subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients who sustained severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Patients who sustained a severe TBI (N = 68) had their resting HR assessed 1 week and 1 month after injury, and they were assessed for PTSD 6 months after injury with the PTSD Interview, a structured clinical interview based on the …
Extinction Learning Before Trauma and Subsequent Posttraumatic Stress
OBJECTIVE: Fear conditioning theories propose that persistent stress reactions may occur as a result of impaired extinction learning, and a poor capacity for extinction learning may predispose some individuals to posttraumatic stress disorder development. This study indexed the extent to which deficits in extinction learning before trauma exposure are a risk factor for persistent posttraumatic stress after trauma exposure. METHODS: Eighty-four fi…
Five Essential Elements of Immediate and Mid–Term Mass Trauma Intervention
Given the devastation caused by disasters and mass violence, it is critical that intervention policy be based on the most updated research findings. However, to date, no evidence-based consensus has been reached supporting a clear set of recommendations for intervention during the immediate and the mid-term post mass trauma phases. Because it is unlikely that there will be evidence in the near or mid-term future from clinical trials that cover th…
Tonic and Phasic Heart Rate as Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between acute measures of a) heart rate (HR) immediately after traumatic injury, b) tonic (resting) HR at 1 week post injury, c) phasic (aroused) HR at 1 week post injury, and d) somatic symptoms of arousal in the prediction of subsequent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fear conditioning models propose that HR reactivity shortly after trauma may predict PTSD. METHOD: In a longitudinal study, consecutiv…
The psychology of ongoing threat
There are now replicated findings that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms related to the September 11, 2001, attacks occurred in large numbers of persons who did not fit the traditional definition of exposure to a traumatic event. These data are not explained by traditional epidemiologic "bull's eye" disaster models, which assume the psychological effects are narrowly, geographically circumscribed, or by existing models of PTSD onset. …
Association of Torture and Other Potentially Traumatic Events With Mental Health Outcomes Among Populations Exposed to Mass Conflict and Displacement
CONTEXT: Uncertainties continue about the roles that methodological factors and key risk factors, particularly torture and other potentially traumatic events (PTEs), play in the variation of reported prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression across epidemiologic surveys among postconflict populations worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To undertake a systematic review and meta-regression of the prevalence rates of PTSD and depress…
Evaluation of the Dispositional Hope Scale in injury survivors
The impact of fear for family on mental health in a resettled Iraqi refugee community
A critical review of psychological treatments of posttraumatic stress disorder in refugees
Lifetime Prevalence of Gender-Based Violence in Women and the Relationship With Mental Disorders and Psychosocial Function
CONTEXT: Intimate partner physical violence, rape, sexual assault, and stalking are pervasive and co-occurring forms of gender-based violence (GBV). An association between these forms of abuse and lifetime mental disorder and psychosocial disability among women needs to be examined. OBJECTIVES: To assess the association of GBV and mental disorder, its severity and comorbidity, and psychosocial functioning among women. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICI…
Dream rebound of suppressed emotional thoughts
The impacts of parental loss and adverse parenting on mental health
There has been much controversy regarding the psychological impact of the death of a parent, partly arising from neglect of potential moderating factors. The present study uses data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) to investigate the relative impacts of age at death of parent, adverse parenting practices, and time since loss on mental health outcomes in 2,823 bereaved adults. Logistic regression analyses controlling for se…
The cost in remembering of ruminating on negative memories
This study investigated retrieval mechanisms that may be involved in memory for distressing stimuli. Forty-one nonclinical participants watched a video clip depicting the immediate aftermath of a serious car accident. Following this, half of the participants were instructed to focus attention on the victims of the accident and to consider the negative sequelae of their injuries. The remaining participants were not given any instructions. Followin…
Is there a mutual relationship between opposite attentional biases underlying anxiety
Current models that account for attentional processes in anxiety have proposed that high-trait anxious individuals are characterized by a hypervigilant-avoidant pattern of attentional biases to threat. We adopted a laboratory conditioning procedure to induce concomitant hypervigilance and avoidance to threat, emphasizing a putative relationship between lower-level reactive and upper-level controlled attentional mechanisms as the core account of a…
Worry, worry attacks, and PTSD among Cambodian refugees
The impact of perceived self-efficacy on mental time travel and social problem solving
Retrieval inhibition in posttraumatic stress disorder
Diagnosis and classification of disorders specifically associated with stress
The diagnostic concepts of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other disorders specifically associated with stress have been intensively discussed among neuro- and social scientists, clinicians, epidemiologists, public health planners and humanitarian aid workers around the world. PTSD and adjustment disorder are among the most widely used diagnoses in mental health care worldwide. This paper describes proposals that aim to maximize clinica…
Psychology (71 works) · Psychiatry (66 works) · Medicine (58 works) · Clinical Psychology (52 works) · Mental health (43 works) · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research (39 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (35 works) · Clinical Psychology (31 works) · Anxiety (23 works) · Psychological intervention (23 works)