Introduction
‘Dark Triad’ is a constellation of three conceptually distinct but empirically overlapping personality variables. The three members- Machiavellianism, narcissism and subclinical ...psychopathy – often show differential correlates but share a common core of callous-manipulation.
Objectives
To validate an easy to use and valid measurement for subclinical populations examining the 3 factors of the dark triad of personality.
Methods
A pool of items designed to circumscribe the classic conceptions of the Dark Triad constructs used for the Short Dark Triad were translated using the multiple forward and backward translation protocol. Participants consisted of 391 adults recruited from social media. Participants were then asked to rate their agreement with each of the 44 items generated for the GSD3Q).
Results
391 adults participated, 51 (13%) male, 340 (87%) female mean age 41.4(SD=10.8). Corrected Item-Total Correlation was used for the first reduction of items and then PCA with eigenvalues >1.5 was used for the reduction of the items loading lower than 0. 400 for each factor independently. Finally, Principal Axis Factoring with Varimax rotation led to 9 items for Machiavellianism (alpha coefficient=0.659), 8 items for Narcissism (alpha coefficient=0.659) and 10 items for Psychopathy (alpha coefficient=0.742). Strong correlations were found as expected between the 3 factors with lower between Machiavellianism and Narcissism r=.487 p=0.001 and higher between Psychopath and Narcissism r=.617 p=0.001.
Conclusions
The results of the current validation led to a 27 item, with 3 factors questionnaire with similar psychometric properties for non-clinical populations. Further validation is needed for clinical samples.
Disclosure of Interest
None Declared
Introduction
The COVID-19 outbreak resulted in two respective social and economic lockdowns in Greece. According to international findings pressure and instability may lead to the sense of losing ...control over the situation, and in retrospect to the escalation of psychosomatic symptoms for the general population.
Objectives
The present study examines whether five socio-demographic variables are significant to the variance of psychosomatic symptoms of the Greek population between the two domestic lockdowns.
Methods
192 participants, of whom 141 were females(73.4%) and 51 males(26.6%), provided their answers between October 5 and November 18, 2020 to the research team of the Psychiatric Unit of the General Public Hospital of Nikaia, ‘Ayios Panteleimon’, in Athens, Greece. The participants were asked about their (i)‘income’, (ii)‘occupation’, (iii)‘residence’, (iv)‘marital status’ and (v)‘education’. Psychosomatic symptoms were measured through the self-reported PSSQ-29 tool (Cronbach’s alpha= .955).
Results
Out of the five One-way Between-participants ANOVAs, none of the five socio-demographic variables showed any significant statistical difference in the level of psychosomatic symptoms.
Conclusions
The study provides some evidence against the protective and harmful role of the socio-demographic variables in psychosomatic health. It is noteworthy, that the conditions were not similar with previous studies. It might be possible that the COVID-19 worked as a phenomenon of mass panic for the Greek sample, and thus no socio-demographic background was either protective or harmful. In conclusion, the present study clearly highlights that none of them had any significant effect to the variance of psychosomatic symptoms for the general population.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Introduction
Covid19 has led in major changes in our lives, while fear was one of the major psychological symptoms that emerged in psychological first aid evaluations.
Objectives
The aim of the ...present study was to report the major factors creating anxiety and fear, affecting everyday life of people in Greece during the two years of the pandemic.
Methods
A sample of 1,158 Greeks (280 males 24.2% participated voluntarily in the study through online platforms. The Fear factors was assessed through an open question which was then analyzed with SPSS 24.
Results
According to the findings, the main source of anxiety and fear arises from the situation that prevails in other European countries with increasing death rates (20.9%) presented in television, followed by what is shown in the news and news programs on television (14, 8%), the fear that the individual may get sick, watching television and radio (9.7%), the experts announcements in public (7.8%), the announcement of new measures by the government and the Ministry of Health in media (6.1%), the existence of elderly parents in the family (4.6%) and social networks (3.8%), while 12.6% stated that they have no fear or anxiety. Gender differences were significant in most of the factors x
2
=51.167 p=.001.
Conclusions
According to the findings the effect that media have in anxiety and fear creation (64.1%), a result that can be used in designing effective health measures that can help people deal with the psychological aftermath of the pandemic.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Introduction
All pandemic outbreaks because of their rapid spread and high mortality rate cause to everyone considerable stress and anxiety.
Objectives
The aim of the present study is to investigate ...how news media exposure moderates the relationship between stress, anxiety, depression and self-efficacy, social support, knowledge of the coronavirus and coronavirus perception.
Methods
223 healthcare providers, men 46 (20.6%) and women 177 (79.4%), working in hospitals in Greece participated in the study. independent t-test, one-way ANOVAs, Pearson’s correlation, multiple-linear regression and moderator’s analysis were analyzed with SPSS23.
Results
Organization support, friends support, covid-19 knowledge and covid-19 perception are most significant predictors to stress, F (4,218) = 11.47, p < .001 and Adjusted R2- .159. Friends support, covid-19 knowledge and self-efficacy, working with covid19 patients and gender are most significant predictors to anxiety, F (5,217) = 11.16, p < .001 Adjusted R2- .186. Friends support, covid-19 knowledge and self-efficacy and organization support are most significant predictors to depression, F (4,218) = 16.37, p < .001 Adjusted R2-squared: .217. News media exposure did moderate the predictive power of almost all predictors for stress, anxiety and depression, at p<.05.
Conclusions
Therefore, the study verifies previous findings arguing that stress, anxiety and depression are strongly associated with numerous factors. These associations seem to be moderated by news media exposure. It is recommended to further explore the impact news media exposure has during crucial periods, such as covid-19 outbreak.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Introduction
Chronic pain can lead to depression, weariness, sleep problems, decreased physical and cognitive function, personality changes/shifts, and social interactions, all of which can lead to ...social marginalization and financial loss.
Objectives
The aim of the present study was to investigate how psychological variables affects pain intensity.
Methods
193 patients diagnosed with chronic pain conditions, men 67 (34.8%) and women 126 (65.2%), participated in the study. This study used a quantitative between-subjects design to investigate the effect of psychological factors on pain intensity using the VAS scale. Analysis was performed with the use of SPSS23.
Results
The analysis produces a coefficient of determination R2 = 0.448 – suggesting that a total 44.8% variability in pain intensity in the previous month can be explained by Age, Fear-avoidance belief about physical activity, Commitment to activity, fear avoidance beliefs about work and Pain catastrophizing magnification. A repeated measure analysis of variance shows that the regression model is statistically significant F (1, 187) = 30.381, p = 0.000. The predictors variables (Age, fear-avoidance belief about physical activity, commitment in activity, fear avoidance beliefs about work and pain catastrophizing magnification) are found to statistically significant t (187) = 9.627, p = 0.001, t (187) = 4.616, p = 0.001, t (187) = 2.982, p = 0.003, t (187) = -2.599, p = 0.010, t (187) = 2.253, p = 0.025 respectively.
Conclusions
The findings of this study are in agreement with previous literature and also provide insight into the major psychological factors correlates with pain intensity
Disclosure of Interest
None Declared
Introduction
Stress is one of the biggest problems leading a large portion of people to seek medical or psychotherapeutic management, while a large portion of hospital staff report high levels of ...work-related stress.
Objectives
The purpose of this intervention was to implement a psychoeducation seminar on stress management by implementing diaphragmatic breathing exercises and to detect the reduction of its levels in nursing staff.
Methods
The study took place at the General Hospital of Nikaia. Fifty employees, 38 women, aged 20-60 (M=37.4±10.5) participated in a two-hour group psychoeducation workshop, concerning psychoeducation on stress and application in diaphragmatic breathing exercises. The measurement of the success of the intervention was performed using a proportional stress assessment scale before and after the intervention. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS26.
Results
Stress levels before the intervention ranged from 0 to 10 (M=5.7±5.7) while after the intervention ranged from 0 to 7 (M=2.3±2.04). Age did not appear to play a role in stress reduction, but was found to be positively and significantly associated with pre-existing stress in employees (r=0.423 p=0.002). On the contrary, gender was found to be related both to the pre-existence of stress, with women reporting the highest levels (t=-3.534 p=0.001), and to the reduction of stress after the intervention (t=-2,534 p=0.001).
Conclusions
The above findings indicate the importance of implementing group psychoeducation programs to reduce stress at the organizational level, a very important result considering the cumulative effect that the recent existence of covid-19 has had on nursing staff.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Introduction
This is the presentation of a postdoc research protocol under the supervision of University of Peloponnese, regarding the application of a program for stress reduction. Τhe intervention ...consisted of a psychoeducational session explaining the stress effect in the brain and the way that relaxation breathing is working, a training session on relaxation breathing and 2 more sessions, one with relaxation breathing and one with trigger points acupressure in the back of the patients.
Objectives
The objective of the study was to test the effectiveness of relaxations techniques in patients with chronic diseases in a Greek General Hospital.
Methods
Out of 335 participants, 153 were found to have high stress levels in the DASS scale and the stress VAS scale that was used for the intervention. 151 of them (49(32, 5%) males), agreed to participate in the intervention with relaxation breathing and 99 in the acupressure session. Diagnosis of the participants were: anxiety disorder (18.5%), Thalassaemia Major(31.1%), Crohn (26.5%), Kidney failure (9.9%) and major depression (13.9%). Analysis was performed with SPSS 24.
Results
The results in DASS stress scale revealed that 54.3 % of the sample had very severe and 24.3% severe stress levels while 58.9% had very severe anxiety levels in DASS anxiety scale. Pair sample t test show statistically significant differences before and after the application of breathing relaxation t150=24.725 p=0.001, as well in the application of acupressure t98=15.901 p=0.001.
Conclusions
According to the results of the present intervention, relaxation techniques can be very helpful as complimentary treatments for patients with chronic diseases
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Introduction
On February 26, 2020 the Greek government established measures against the spread of COVID-19, which eventually escalated to the entire social and economic ‘lockdown’ of the state on ...March 23. The main message was staying home and protect the eldest who are more vulnerable to the virus.
Objectives
The aim of the present study was to test the effect of living with a vulnerable person to specific psychological factors in order to be able to create future interventions for psychological well-being of the population.
Methods
A convenient sample of 1,158 Greeks (280 males 24.2% participated electronically during the ‘lockdown. A battery of questionnaires for stress resilience, acute stress, and satisfaction with life, well-being and effect on psychosocial health was used for the study. Analysis was performed with SPSS 24.
Results
Individuals living in the same house with a vulnerable partner of parent were found to have statistically significant higher levels in acute stress disorder (Μ=39,4±15,4) than those living without (M=37.7±15.5) (t
1156
=2.125 p=0.03)The same happened with the effect on psychological health with the first Group having significantly higher score in the questionnaire (M=76.6±56,9) than the second group (M=69.1±55.1) (t
1156
=2.330 p=0.02). Stress resilience, satisfaction with life and well-being were not affected.
Conclusions
According to our data individuals living in the same house with a vulnerable person for COVID-19 are more likely to develop acute stress and psychosocial impact. Stress reduction programs are needed in order to help this population with managing the results of the lockdown.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Introduction Schizophrenia and psychotic disorders represent psychiatric disease patterns characterized by great impairment due to disease severity with a great effect in patient's health related ...quality of life, which still remain a challenge in everyday clinical practice. Aim To investigate group differences in health related quality of life(HRQoL) in patients with psychosis during in hospital treatment. Methods 174 inpatients in a psychiatric ward in Athens-Greece participated in the study. 120(69%) were males and 54(31%) females. Of them, 0(11.5%) had bipolar disorder(BD), 126(72.4%) psychosis and depression(PD) and 28(16.1%) comorbit alcohol addiction(PAA). Patients filled a battery with tests of HrQoL, psychotic symptoms, negative motions, optimism, self-esteem, happiness and life-satisfaction. Stepwise regression models were used to determine the best predictors of compliance with SPSS. Results There were a statistical significant difference in compliance between BD and PAA(good compliance 100%) and PD(good compliance 66.7%)(x2 =21.09p=.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that good reaction to treatment(beta=−.736), atypical antipsychotics(beta=− .312), antidepressants(beta=−.270), days of hospitalization(beta=.203), bipolar disorder(beta=.199), sleeping pills(beta=.169) and stabilizers(beta=−.188) explained 74.5% of the variance in compliance(adjusted R2 =.745 p<0.001). In a second model with the inclusion of personality and emotional characteristics in the model, stress(beta=−.381) negative emotions (DASS)(beta=.290) and subjective happiness(beta=.120) explained an additional 3% in compliance with therapy(adjusted R2 =.775 p<0.001). Conclusions It seems that depression comorbidity is an effective factor affecting therapy compliance in psychosis, with days staying in hospital for treatment. Also if the patient is prior to the therapy happy with his life complies better with the pharmacological approach that was used during the days of treatment.
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