Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42787756›Full record

ArticleClinical psychology in Europe2026

Promoting Flexibility in Expectations: A Randomized-Controlled Online-Intervention Study for Mild Psychopathological Symptoms.

Anne-Catherine I Ewen, Marcel Wilhelm

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical psychology in Europe, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Anne-Catherine I EwenDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9738-5300
Marcel WilhelmDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8055-9346

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Research demonstrates that mental disorders are associated with specific dysfunctional expectations and a reduced ability to adjust them, even after expectation-violating experiences. The Method: This study examines the effectiveness of an online EFPI platform for individuals with mild depressive and/or anxiety symptoms. A total of 128 participants, screened with the PHQ-9 (scores 5-9) and/or BAI (scores 8-25), were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The EFPI group and the active control group (ACG) received a psychoeducational video about expectations and their influence on behavior. Over four weeks, the EFPI group completed behavioral experiments to test their personal expectations, while the ACG used only cognitive strategies to challenge personal expectations. A third group (control group; CG) received no intervention. Surveys were administered at baseline, four weeks, and eight weeks after the initial assessment. Results: A significant reduction in cognitive immunization was observed over measurement timepoints, with a significant difference to the CG at the follow-up. Anxiety symptoms appear to moderate this effect, whereas EFPI did not influence depressive symptoms, nor did depressive symptoms moderate changes in cognitive immunization. Conclusion: This study is the first to evaluate online EFPI for mild depression and/or anxiety symptoms, suggesting that EFPI may reduce cognitive immunization. Future studies should investigate therapist-delivered EFPI in clinical populations with more severe symptoms.

Indexed as

expectation focused psychological intervention EFPIexpectation violationimmunizationonline interventionssubclinical to mild symptomsViolEx-model

Identifiers

PMID42787756
PMCPMC13602195

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.