The Stress, Self & Health (STREALTH) Lab
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
STREALTH RESEARCH PROJECTS
1. Complex Depressive and Somatic Conditions (CDSC):
Unipolar depression is so prevalent and so debilitating, that it has recently ascended to a status of Pandemia - a global epidemic. Depression might also spiral into suicidality, and usually manifests itself alongside many other disorders such as anxiety, eating, and conduct disorders. As well, somatic and somatoform presentations (also entitled Functionally Somatic Disorders, Medically Unexplained Symptoms, etc.) are highly prevalent, challenging practitioners from diverse disciplines and persuasions to provide adequate diagnostic, intervention, and prevention services. Depressive and somatic disorders also tend to co-occur.
CDSC aims at deciphering these complex conditions using a combination of methodologies drawn from psychiatric epidemiology and psychological science (particularly clinical-health, developmental and personality psychology. Specifically, we are currently studying the underpinnings of depression comorbidity and suicidal depression, as well as the antecedents and consequences of chronic pain, somatoform symptoms, and disordered sleep and sexual functioning.
Flagship publications:
NOTES: * Student, ** Principle Investigator on a Research Grant
IN PRESS
Shahar, G. (in press). Erosion: The psychopathology of self-criticism. New York: Oxford University Press.
Luyten, P., Beutel, M., & Shahar, G. (in press). Functional somatic disorders. In P. Luyten, L., Mayes, M., Target, & S. J. Blatt (Eds.), Handbook of contemporary psychodynamic approaches to psychopathology. New York: Guilford.
2015
*Lerman-Zohar, S. F., Rudich, Z., Brill, S., Shalev, H., & **Shahar, G. (2015; Publication ahead of print). In chronic pain sufferers, depression/anxiety prospectively predicts pain: Support for the antecedent hypothesis. Psychosomatic Medicine.
Tikotzky, L., Sadeh, A., Volkovich, E., Manber, R., Meiri, G., & Shahar, G. (2015). Infant sleep development from 3 to 6 months postpartum: Links with maternal sleep and parental involvement. Monographs of the Society for Research on Child Development, 80(1), 107-124.
2014
Shahar, G., *Lassri, D., Luyten, P., (2014). Depression in chronic illness: A behavioral medicine approach. In D. Mostofsky (Ed.) Handbook of Behavioral Medicine (Chapter 1, pp. 3-22). New York: Wiley.
2013
Henrich, C. C., & Shahar, G. (2013). Effects of repeated exposure to rocket attacks on adolescent distress, aggression and violence commission. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(6), 619-627.
*Lerman, S., Rudich, Z., & Shahar, G. (2013). Does war hurt? Effects of media-exposure and missile attacks on chronic pain. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 20(1), 56-63.
*Peleg-Sagy, T., & Shahar, G. (2013). The longitudinal associations between depression and sexual dissatisfaction change as a function of the depression measure used: A study of female medical students. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10, 1737-1743.
2012
*Weinberg, D., Shahar, G., *Noyman, G., & Davidson, L., McGlashan, T. H., & Fennig, S. (2012). The Self in schizophrenia: Examination of (short-term) stress-diathesis and scarring effects. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 75, 285-297.
2011
*Soffer-Dudek, N., & Shahar, G. (2011). Daily stress interacts with trait dissociation to predict sleep-related experiences in young adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 120, 719-729.
2010
Allon-Schnibel, I., Aderka, I. M., Shahar, G., Stein, M., & Gilboa-Shechtman, E. (2010). Longitudinal associations between PTSD and depressive symptoms following a traumatic event. Psychological Medicine, 40, 1669-1678.
Sadeh, A., Dahl, R. E., Shahar, G., & Stein, S. (2009). Sleep and the transition to adolescence: A longitudinal study. Sleep, 12, 1062-1069.
*Lerman, S. F., Rudich, Z., & **Shahar, G. (2010). Distinguishing affective and somatic dimensions of pain and depression: A Confirmatory Factor Analytic study. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66, 1-10.
Rudich, Z., *Lerman, S. F., **Shahar, G. (2010). Pain specialists' evaluation of patients' predicts subsequent depression and the affective dimension of pain. Pain Medicine, 446-452.
*Schatner, E., Shahar, G., *Lerman, S., & Abu-Shakra, M. (2010). Depression in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: The key role of illness intrusiveness and concealment of symptoms. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 73, 329-340.
*Sheppes, G., Meiran, N., *Spivak, O., & **Shahar, G. (2010). Implicit self-concept predicts depressive symptoms under failure: A longitudinal, stress-diathesis approach. Journal of Research in Personality, 44, 602-609.
2009
*Soffer-Dudek, N., & Shahar, G. (2009). What are sleep experiences? Associations with transliminality, psychological distress, and life stress. Consciousness & Cognition, 18, 891-904.
Shahar, G., *Ann-Scotti, M., Joiner, T. E. Jr., & Rudd, M. D. (2008). Hypomanic symptoms predict an increase in narcissistic and histrionic personality disorder features in suicidal young adults. Depression & Anxiety, 25, 892-U1003.
2008
Fenning, S., Hadas, A., *Izhakey, L., Roe, D., Apter, A., & Shahar, G. (2008). Self-criticism is a key predictor of eating disorder symptoms among inpatient adolescent girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 41, 762-765.
2006
Shahar, G., *Bareket, L., Rudd, D., & Joiner, T. E. (2006). In suicidal young adults, hopelessness, depression and suicidality constitute a single syndrome. Psychological Medicine, 36, 913-922.
2004
Shahar, G., Blatt, S. J., Zuroff, D. C., Krupnick, J., & Sotsky, S. M. (2004). Perfectionism impedes social relations and response to brief treatment for depression. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 23, 140-154.
Shahar, G., Blatt, S. J., Zuroff, D. C., Kuperminck, G. P., & Leadbeater, B. J. (2004). Reciprocal relations between depressive symptoms and self-criticism (but not dependency) among early adolescent girls (but not boys). Cognitive Therapy & Research, 28, 85-103.
Shahar, G., Joiner, T. E. Jr., Zuroff, D. C., & Blatt, S. J. (2004). Personality, interpersonal behavior, and depression: Co-existence of stress-specific moderating and mediating effects. Personality & Individual Differences, 36, 1583-1596.
2003
Shahar, G., Blatt, S. J., Zuroff, D. C., & Pilkonis, P. A. (2003). Role of perfectionism and personality disorder features in patients’ responses to brief treatment for depression. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 71, 229-233.
Shahar, G., & Davidson, L. (2003). Depressive symptoms erode self-esteem in severe mental illness: A three-wave, cross-lagged study. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 71, 890-900.
Shahar, G., & Priel, B. (2003). Active vulnerability, adolescent distress, and the mediating/suppressing role of life events. Personality & Individual Differences, 35(1), 199-218. doi: 10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00185-X
2. Interpersonal processes in resilience and stress-resistance (IPRSR):
Not all individuals exposed to stress are adversely affected, at least not immediately. Some even manage to utilize stressful experiences in order to grow and thrive. Our lab has been one of the leading research groups studying individuals’ resistance in the face of stress -- both acute and chronic – across the life span. Drawing from our eco-psychological/ecodevelopmental perspective, according to which individuals are developing and acting within relational matrices, IPRSR seeks to identify the interpersonal processes that account for risk, resilience, and their interplay. In particular, we are interested in the protective, but also iatrogenic, roles of the self-concept and supportive relationships in stress, risk, resilience, and the “risk/resilience dialectics”.
Flagship publications:
NOTES: * Student, ** Principle Investigator on a Research Grant
2015
*Noyman-Veksller, G., *Herishanu-Gilutz, S., Kofman, O., Holcberg, G., & Shahar, G. (2015). Effect of emergency and elective caesarian section vs. natural delivery on post-natal symptoms and impairment in mother-infant bonding: Sense of Coherence and social support as protective factors. Psychology & Health, 30(4), 441-455.
2014
*Tanzer, M., Shahar, G., & Avidan, G. (2014). Project PAVE (Personality And Vision Experimentation): Role of personal and interpersonal resilience in the perception of emotional facial expressions. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 8:602. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00602
2013
Shahar, G. (2013). The heroic self: Conceptualization, measurement, and role in distress. International Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 6(3), 248-264.
*Tanzer, M., Avidan, G., & Shahar, G. (2013). Does social support protect against
recognition of angry facial expressions following failure? Cognition & Emotion. DOI:10.1080/02699931.2013.782266
*Elad-Strenger, J., Fireman, Z., *Schiller, M., Besser, A., & Shahar, G. (2013). Risk-resilience dynamics of ideological factors in distress following the evacuation from Gush Katif. International Journal of Stress Management, 20, 57-75.
*Tanzer, M., Shahar, G., & Avidan, G. (2013). A smile worthy of your cognition: General self-efficacious individuals recognize and remember happy faces. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 32, 1-16
2012
Shahar, G. (2012). A social-clinical psychological statement on resilience: Introduction to the Special Issue. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 31, 535-541.
Shahar, G., *Elad-Strenger, J., & Henrich, C. C. (2012). Risky resilience and resilient risk: A person-context perspective on an emerging dialectics. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 31(6), 618-640. doi: 10.1521/jscp.2012.31.6.618
2011
Brookmeyer, K., Henrich, C. C., *Cohen, G., & Shahar, G. (2011). Israeli adolescents exposed to community and terror violence: The protective role of social support. Journal of Early Adolescence, 31(4), 577-603. doi: 10.1177/0272431610366247
*Gilat, I., Tobin, Y., & Shahar, G. (2011). Offering support to suicidal individuals in an online support group. Archives of Suicide Research, 15, 195-206.
2009
Shahar, G., *Cohen, G., Grogen, K., Barile, J., & Henrich, C. C. (2009). Terrorism-related perceived stress, adolescent depression, and friends' support. Pediatrics, 124(2), e235-e240.
2008
Henrich, C. C., & Shahar, G. (2008). Social support buffers the effect of terrorism on adolescent depression: Findings from Sderot, Israel. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(9), 1073-1076. doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e31817eed08
*Kidd, S., & Shahar, G. (2008). Resilience in street youth: The key role of self-esteem. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 78, 163-172.
2006
Davidson, L., Shahar, G., Lawless, M. S., Sells, D., & Tandora, J. (2006). Play, pleasure, and other positive events: “non-specific” factors in recovery from mental illness? Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 69, 151-163.
Henrich, C. C., Brookmeyer, K. A., Shrier, L., & Shahar, G. (2006). Supportive relationships and risky sexual behavior in adolescence: An ecological-transactional approach. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 31(3), 286-297. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsj024
*Kidd, S., Henrich, C. C., Brookmeyer, K. A., King, R. A., Davidson, L., & Shahar, G. (2006). The social context of adolescent suicide: Interactive effects of social relations with parents, peers, and school. Suicide & Life Threatening Behavior, 36(4), 386-395. doi: 10.1521/suli.2006.36.4.386
2005
Henrich, C. C., Brookmeyer, K., A., & Shahar, G. (2005). Weapon violence in adolescence: Parent and school connectedness as protective factors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37(4), 306-312. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.03.022
2004
Shahar, G., Gallagher, L. F., Blatt, S. J., Kuperminc, G. P., & Leadbeater, B. J. (2004). An interactive-synergetic approach to the assessment of personality vulnerability to depression: Illustration with the adolescent version of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 605-625.
2003
Shahar, G., Henrich, C. C., Blatt, S. J., Ryan, R. & Little, T. D. (2003). Interpersonal relatedness, self-definition, and their motivational orientation during adolescence: A theoretical and empirical integration. Developmental Psychology, 39(3), 470-483. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.39.3.470
3. Cognitive-Existential Psychodynamics (CEP): A philosophical-theoretical platform for an integrative, evidence-based clinical practice with seriously disturbed adolescents and young adults
CEP is mostly carried by Dr. Shahar, at times collaborating with colleagues and/or students. It aims at conceptualizing a broad philosophical-theoretical framework that integrates research findings and clinical experience, and bridges across various psychotherapeutic persuasions (e.g., psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, systemic) for the purpose of offering a personalized clinical practice with a focus on seriously disturbed adolescent and young adults.
Flagship publications:
NOTES: * Student, ** Principle Investigator on a Research Grant
2015
Ziv-Beiman, S., & Shahar, G. (2015). Psychotherapy integration. In R. Cautin & S. Lilinfeld (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Clinical Psychology. New York: Wiley. DOI: 10.1002/9781118625392.wbecp297
2014
Kelly, A. C., Zuroff, D. C., & Shahar, G. (2014). Perfectionism. In L. Grossman & S. Walfish (Eds.), "Translating Research into Practice: A Desk Reference for Practicing Mental Health Professionals." (pp. 233-240). New York: Springer.
2013
Shahar, G. (2013). An integrative psychotherapist's account of his focus in the treatment of self-critical patients. Psychotherapy, 50(3), 322-325. doi: 10.1037/a0032033
Shahar, G., & Henrich, C. C. (2013). Axis of Criticism Model (ACRIM): An integrative conceptualization of person-context exchanges in vulnerability to adolescent psychopathology. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23(3), 236-249. doi: 10.1037/a0031418
2012
Shahar, G. (2012). "I don't want to be here": Projectuality and eventuality in Ms. T's case. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 22, 27-32.
2011
Shahar, G. (2011). Projectuality vs. eventuality: Sullivan, the ambivalent intentionalist. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 21, 211-220.
2010
Shahar, G. (2010). Poetics, pragmatics, schematics, and the psychoanalysis-research dialogue (rift). Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, 24, 315-328.
2009
Shahar, G., & Davidson, L. (2009). Participation-engagement: A philosophically-based heuristic for prioritizing interventions in the treatment of comorbid, complex, and chronic psychiatric conditions. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 72, 154-176.
2008
Shahar, G., Horesh, N., & *Cohen, G. (2008). Helping them get their act together: An Action Theory approach to treatment termination in personality disorders (pp. 363-381). In W. O’Donohue and M. Cucciare (Eds.) A clinician’s guide to the termination of psychotherapy. New York: Taylor and Francis.
2007
Davidson, L. & Shahar, G. (2007). From deficit to desire: A philosophical reconsideration of action models of psychopathology. Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, 14, 215-232.
Davidson, L. & Shahar, G. (2007). Introducing a "Deleuze Effect" into psychiatry. Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, 14, 243-248.
2006
Shahar, G. (2006). Clinical action: Introduction to the special section on the action perspective in clinical psychology. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 29, 1053-1064.
Shahar, G., & Porcerelli, J. H. (2006). The Action Formulation (TAF): A heuristic for clinical case formulation. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 29, 1115-1127.
Layne, J., Porcerelli, J. H., & Shahar, G. (2006). Psychotherapy of self-criticism in a woman with “mixed” anaclitic-introjective depression. Clinical Case Studies, 5, 421-436.
2004
Shahar, G. (2004). Transference-countertransference: Where the (political) action is. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 14, 371-396.
Shahar, G., Cross, L. W., & Henrich, C. C. (2004). Representations in action (Or: Psychoanalytic theories of mental representations meet action models of development). Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 59, 261-293.
2001
Shahar, G. (2001). Personality, shame, and the breakdown of social ties: The voice of quantitative depression research. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 64(3), 229-238. doi: 10.1521/psyc.64.3.228.18463