Nathan L. Williams, Ph.D. Vulnerability to Emotional Disorders Research Lab

The primary objective of my research laboratory is to investigate those factors that either predispose individuals to developing anxiety or depression or that protect individuals against the development of these disorders. While a broad range of such factors certainly exists, my current research is focused on several domains of vulnerability and protective factors, including: cognitive styles, information processing mechanisms, coping styles, flexibility, and romantic relationships. My research lab 4th year of operation at the University of Arkansas and we are actively recruiting both graduate and undergraduate research assistants.

Current Projects

1. Information Processing in Cognitive Vulnerability to Anxiety. An ongoing series of studies investigates the cognitive mechanisms by which individuals project temporal and spatial courses onto static objects (e.g., photographs). The central premise of this study is that individuals who are vulnerable to anxiety may be biased in the way that they represent environmental stimuli in awareness, such that stimuli are viewed as rapidly approaching or likely to approach (through either time or space) toward a dreaded outcome. This study will examine how this cognitive bias influences attentional processes, subjective estimation of environmental danger, and memory for potential threat stimuli.

2. Diathesis-Stress Models of Vulnerabilities to Anxiety Disorders: A large-scale prospective study of multiple vulnerability and stress factors in the prediction of changes in anxious and depressive symptoms. This study also examines the specificity of vulnerability factors to specific types of anxiety and disgust-related disorders.

3. Information Processing Mechanisms in Disgust. An ongoing series of studies in collaboration with Dr. Jeff Lohr's research group examines information processing mechanisms that underly disgust responding. Moreover, this research examines factors that confer vulnerability to disgust and the differentiation of anxiety, fear, and disgust in anxiety disorders (e.g., contamination fears, BII phobia, PTSD).

4. Disorder-Specific studies: My research lab currently has several ongoing projects investigating vulnerabilities to: 1) Generalized Anxiety Disorder and information processing mechanisms in pathological worry; 2) Contamination fears and beliefs about the spread of contagion; 3) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder associated with sexual assault and rape; and 4) the development of specific phobias.

Work in Progress

Williams, N. L., Cisler, J., Willems, J., Connolly, K. M., Elwood, L. S., Olatunji, B. O., & Lohr, J. M. (2006). Information Processing and Disgust Sensitivity: Enhanced cognitive accessibility of contamination-related threat. Under Review in Journal of Anxiety Disorders.

Williams, N. L., & Elwood, L. S. (2006). Traumatic Life Events and Cognitive vulnerabilities to anxiety and depression. Under Review in Personality and Individual Differences.

Williams, N. L., Hahn, K. S., Elwood, L. S., & Reardon, J. M. (2006). A psychometric analysis of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale: Implications for examining emotion regulation in anxiety-related disorders. Under review in Journal of Psychopathology Assessment

Williams, N. L., Olatunji, B. O., Riskind, J. H., & Tolin, D. F. (2006). Cognitive vulnerability to contamination-based intrusive thoughts and the looming maladaptive style. Under Review in Cognitive Therapy & Research.

Williams, N. L., Olatunji, B. O., Riskind, J. H., Elwood, L. S., & Reardon, J. M. (2006). Information processing biases and the Looming Cognitive Style: Distinctions from anxiety symptoms. Under Review in Journal of Anxiety Disorders.

Williams, N. L., & Reardon, J. M. (2006). Cognitive vulnerabilities to depression: Prospective prediction and specificity of dysfunctional attitudes and explanatory style. Under Review in Cognitive Therapy & Research.

Williams, N. L., Reardon, J. M., & Parsons, C. (In progress). Adult Romantic Attachment and Electronic Communication: Transitional Objects in a Technological Age. Under Review in Journal of Personal and Social Relations.

Connolly, K. M., Williams, N. L., & Lohr, J. M. (In progress). Cognitive Factors in Contamination Fears and Disgust.

Elwood, L.S., & Williams, N. L. (In progress). Vulnerabilities to PTSD among survivors of interpersonal trauma: Cognitive styles, attachment styles, & Coping Styles.

Williams, N. L. (In progress). The cognitive interactional model of appraisal and coping: Implications for cognitive vulnerability to emotional disorders.

Williams, N. L. (In progress). The Anxious Anticipatory Style: Construct validation of a new measure of cognitive vulnerability to anxiety.

Williams, N. L., Cisler, J., Connolly, K. M., Willems, J. L., Elwood, L. S., Olatunji, B. O., & Lohr, J. M. (In progress). Examining lexical versus pictorial elicitors of disgust: Implications for examining disgust sensitivity in the anxiety disorders.

Williams, N. L., Elwood, L. S., Reardon, J. M., Hahn, K. S., & Cole, H. (In progress). The Relationship between Young Adults' Conceptualizations of Anxiety and Mood Disorders and Help Seeking Behavior.

Williams, N. L., McDonald, T., Reardon, J., & Hahn, K. S. (In progress). The Looming Cognitive Style: A predominance of mental imagery in generalized anxiety and worry.

Williams, N. L., Parsons, C., & Reardon, J. M. (In progress). Information processing in adult romantic attachment.

Williams, N. L., Reardon, L. E., Elwood, L. S., & Motley, R. (In progress). Vulnerabilities to Bulimic symptoms in young adult females: Cognitive styles and coping styles.

Williams, N. L., Reardon, J. M., & Parsons, C. (In progress). Vulnerabilities to Anxious and depressive symptoms: Attachment, cognitive, & coping styles.

Williams, N. L. & Riskind, J. H. (In progress). A prospective investigation of cognitive vulnerability to anxiety.

Williams, N. L., Riskind, J. H., & Connolly, K. M. (In progress). Looming Cognitive Style and Specific looming vulnerability to aggressive urges and contamination: Associations with OCD Symptoms and Thought Suppression.

Williams, N. L. Riskind, J. H., Hahn, K. S., & McDonald, T., & Chrosniak, L. D.(In progress). Why Worry: The Mitigating Effects of Worry on Cognitive Vulnerability to Anxiety.

Williams, N. L., Riskind, J. H., Moore, S., McDonald, T., & Luhn, J. (In progress). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between self-report measures of anxiety and depression.

Williams, N. L., Riskind, J. H., & Reardon, J. M. (In progress). Coping styles and coping flexibility as vulnerabilities to emotional disorders.