Subjective well-being is decreased in war-affected populations. However, no previous research has investigated the role of temperament and character dimensions in life satisfaction among war veterans ...with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study enrolled 148 Croatian male war veterans being treated for combat-related PTSD. The participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. Two multivariate regression analyses with life satisfaction as a dependent variable and temperament and character dimensions, respectively, as predictor variables, were performed. Temperament dimensions harm avoidance and novelty seeking as well as character dimensions self-directedness and cooperativeness were unique predictors of life satisfaction, while controlling for the influence of depressive symptoms, education level, and employment status. Given the influence of personality dimensions on life satisfaction, the routine assessment of these dimensions might help to establish the individually tailored treatment among war veterans with PTSD.
SAŽETAK
Cilj: U vrijeme pandemije COVID-19 promjene u uvjetima studiranja mogu utjecati na mentalno zdravlje studenata medicine. Istraživanje ima za cilj ispitati pojavnost depresije, anksioznosti i ...stresa, njihovu povezanost sa sociodemografskim i akademskim karakteristikama te postojanje razlika između studenata pretkliničkih i kliničkih godina studija.
Metode: Ovo presječno istraživanje provedeno je online uporabom metode snježne grude. Uključeno je 206 studenata svih godina Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, od čega je 51% pripadalo skupini pretkliničkih, a 49% skupini kliničkih godina studija.
Rezultati: Istraživanje je ukazalo na prisutnost depresije u 25,7% studenata medicine, 26,7% je imalo značajne anksiozne smetnje, a 15% značajne simptome stresa. Simptomi anksioznosti i stresa bili su više izraženi u studentica. Korelacijska analiza ukazala je na obrnutu povezanost depresije, anksioznosti i stresa s prosječnim uspjehom, depresije s godinom studija, a vrijeme provedeno u učenju obrnuto je koreliralo s anksioznošću. U logističkoj regresiji su prosjek ocjena i partnerski status (biti u vezi) bili značajni prediktori depresije, prosjek ocjena, spol i konzumacija psihoaktivnih tvari značajni prediktori anksioznosti, dok su spol i konzumacija psihoaktivnih tvari bili značajni prediktori stresa. Preboljenje COVID-19 kao i cijepljenje protiv ove bolesti nije bilo povezano s depresijom, anksioznošću i stresom. Cijepljenje je bilo češće što su studenti stariji, odnosno češće u skupini kliničkih godina studija.
Zaključak: U doba pandemije lošije mentalno zdravlje studenata medicine povezano je sa ženskim spolom, lošijim akademskim uspjehom, partnerskim statusom i konzumacijom psihoaktivnih tvari. Preboljenje COVID-19 kao i cijepljenje protiv COVID-19 nije bilo povezano s mentalnim zdravljem.
The presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in male war veterans has been linked with family dysfunction and psychopathology in their children
1
,
2
. This study aimed to evaluate ...self-reported emotional and behavioral symptoms, parent–adolescent bonding and family functioning in clinically referred adolescent offspring of Croatian PTSD war veterans and determine the degree that parent–child bonding and family functioning contributed to adolescent behavior problems. Internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, parent–child bonding and family functioning were assessed in a sample of clinically referred Croatian PTSD veterans adolescent offspring (
N
= 122) and non-PTSD veteran adolescent offspring (
N
= 122) matched for age, sex, educational level, family income, parental employment status, ethnicity, and residential area. Youth Self-Report, Parental Bonding Instrument, Family Assessment Device were used. Adolescent offspring of PTSD veterans reported having significantly more internalizing and externalizing problems than non-PTSD veteran offspring, and also more difficulties in their family functioning, lower levels of maternal and paternal care, and more impaired mother–child and father–child bonding than control subjects. Internalizing symptoms were associated with family dysfunction, while externalizing symptoms were associated with paternal overcontrol/overprotection, and low maternal and paternal care. In conclusion, the increase in internalizing and externalizing symptoms as well as family and parental dysfunction among clinically referred adolescent offspring of PTSD veterans compared to their non-PTSD veteran counterparts indicates a need for early detection and interventions targeting both adolescent psychopathology and family relationships.
We present a case of a patient with treatment resistant hallucinatory experiences with incidental finding of an arachnoid cyst localized in the posterior infratentorial cranial fossa dorsally to the ...cerebellum. Psychological testing revealed significant deficit of cognitive functions to the level of mild intellectual disability in a person that had previously finished high school with good grades. A combination of clozapine and lamotrigine led to significant improvement in mood and reduction of hallucinations, but without improvement in cognitive functions. We also performed a literature review of previously published case reports or case series of co-occurring posterior fossa arachnoid cyst and schizophrenia or psychosis or psychiatric symptoms using PubMed search and discuss some controversies considering their treatment outcome.
In 1937, Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bini performed electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) in Rome for the first time. That was the time when different types of 'shock therapy' were performed; beside ECT, ...insulin therapies, cardiazol shock therapy, etc. were also performed. In 1938, Cerletti and Bini reported the results of ECT. Since then, this method has spread rapidly to a large number of countries. As early as 1940, just two years after the results of the ECT had been published, it was also introduced in Croatia, at Sestre milosrdnice Hospital, for the first time in our hospital and in the then state of Yugoslavia. Since 1960, again the first in Croatia and the state, we performed ECT in general anesthesia and continued it down to the present, with a single time brake.
Presence of gallstones is associated with a range of risk factors that have previously shown associations with personality traits. Our aim was to assess the differences in personality traits between ...the patients with and without gallstones.
This study used a case-control design with 308 participants from the general population, 68.2% female, mean age 49.2 (SD 9.24) years, of whom 154 (50%) participants had asymptomatic gallstones. Personality was assessed with the Temperament and Character Inventory - Revised – 140 (TCI-R-140) and depression with the Center for Epidemiological Study of Depression Scale (CESD). Cut-off ≥16 on the CES-D was used as an exclusion criterion. Subjects were also checked for metabolic risk factors and sociodemographic characteristics.
The group with gallstones had significantly more pronounced metabolic risk factors and higher prevalence of smoking and alcohol usage in comparison with the group without gallstones. This group also exhibited higher temperament dimension Harm avoidance (HA) and lower character dimension Self-directedness (SD). Metabolic variables differed based on character dimension Cooperativeness (CO), smoking based on temperament dimensions Novelty seeking (NS) and HA, and alcohol usage on dimension NS within the gallstones group. In the logistic regression, controlled for smoking, alcohol usage and metabolic variables, temperament dimension HA was shown to be a significant predictor of the presence of gallstones.
Our findings indicate that personality may be associated with the presence of gallstones. Future longitudinal studies addressing the complex interplay of personality traits, psychological mechanisms and the associated behavioral, metabolic and neurobiological factors, are needed.
•The first study that assessed the association between gallstones and personality.•Gallstones group smoked, used alcohol more and had higher BMI, GUK and lipids.•Gallstones group had higher Harm avoidance and lower Self-directedness.•Harm avoidance, smoking and alcohol were linked to gallstones' presence.•Low Cooperativeness was associated with higher BMI and lipids in gallstone patients.
Subjective factors influencing placebo response have been a focus of numerous theoretical conceptualizations and empirical research. One such factor, individual's personality, has been linked to ...different clinical conditions, their expressions and treatment outcomes. Thus, there is little surprise many researchers have tried to identify placebo-prone personality over the years. Because of certain methodological and conceptual issues of the earlier studies, these efforts have not been very fruitful. However, recent scientific endeavours, facilitated by improved experimental designs and neuroimaging technology, have 'reignited the old fires'. It is now suggested that studies exploring the placebo-related personality traits, such as optimism/pessimism, neuroticism, and novelty seeking, need to take into account situational variables (e.g., positive or negative expectations, patient-clinician relationship) and relevant underlying neurobiological mechanisms (e.g., endogenous opioid and dopaminergic systems). Even though many questions still remain to be answered, such as the identification of different situational variables interacting with personality traits, exploration and better understanding of placebo-related personality would facilitate the use of placebo in clinical practice and improve the methodology of clinical trials.
Abstract This study investigated the associations between internalized stigma, depressive symptoms, and temperament dimension Harm avoidance. One hundred and seventeen stable outpatients with ...schizophrenia completed a battery of self-report instruments. Internalized stigma was significantly positively related to depressive symptoms, while Harm avoidance moderated the internalized stigma-depressive symptoms relationship.
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