Associations between Trauma, Dissociation, Adult Attachment and Proneness to Hallucinations

IntroductionThe Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) was developed to measure depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. It includes a child self-report part and a parent report on child part. The MFQ has been validated and proven clinical useful in several countries.ObjectivesTo validate the MFQ in a population of Danish children and adolescents.AimsThere is a need of a standardized questionnaire for Danish children and adolescents tapping into affective symptoms. Before routine use the MFQ must have been validated in Denmark. This study examines the validity of MFQ in Danish children and adolescents.MethodsThe study included two samples of probands aged 8–18 years. A population-based sample of school children and their parents, and a clinical sample including two subsamples:– patients referred for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services with depressive symptoms;– in-patients at the paediatric department of a University Hospital.All included probands and their parents filled out the MFQ and the clinical samples in addition answered the depression section of the Beck Youth Inventories, and were interviewed using the depression part of “K-SADS-PL”.ResultsPreliminary results from both samples will be presented at the EPA 2017 in Florence.ConclusionsDepending on the results of this study, the MFQ might be used as a screening instrument and as a clinical tool to monitor depressive symptoms in Danish children and adolescents.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Avoidance and overgeneral memory

10.26686/wgtn.17068511.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Tim Ganly

Keyword(s):

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Test ◽

Self Report ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Overgeneral Memory ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Avoidance Strategies ◽

The Relationship

Overgeneral memory is a phenomenon that occurs in depression in which people tend to remember temporally non-specific autobiographical memories. Overgeneral memory may be functional; by avoiding specific memories, potentially distressing emotions can avoided. This “functional avoidance” may be part of a repertoire of avoidance strategies people use when they are under stress. The question of the relationship between avoidance, stress, and overgeneral memory has been investigated using only laboratory-based stressors, and no previous research has examined the relationships in both non-clinical and clinical samples. Across four studies, this thesis investigated the relationships between avoidance and overgeneral memory in clinical and non-clinical samples and whether every-day stress moderates this relationship. Studies 1, 2, and 4 engaged undergraduate samples in which mean depression scores were low (non-clinical samples). Study 3 engaged a sample from a university counselling service in which the mean depression score was high (clinical sample). Participants completed self-report measures of avoidance and stress. They were also asked to remember specific events to a series of emotion cue words on the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). This thesis also investigated the possibility that avoidance may be associated with a reduction in memory performance on other tests of autobiographical memory besides the AMT, perhaps because other types of memories, not just specific, can be distressing. Thus, in Study 1, participants also completed the Autobiographical Memory Test-Reversed (AMT-R) in which they were asked to retrieve general memories. In addition, across studies, the pleasantness of events remembered to positive and negative cues was examined. In Study 4, the possible moderating role of rating pleasantness on the relationship between avoidance and overgeneral memory was examined. Results from the non-clinical samples indicated higher avoidance was associated with less overgeneral remembering on the AMT. In the clinical sample, there were no significant relationships between avoidance and overgeneral memory. There were no significant relationships between avoidance and AMT-R performance. Overall, stress did not moderate the relationship between avoidance and overgeneral memory. Mean pleasantness ratings for events remembered to positive and negative cues were congruent with cue valence. However, individual positive and negative cues did not always elicit memories for pleasant and unpleasant events, respectively. Rating (vs. not rating) the pleasantness of remembered events did not moderate the relationship between avoidance and overgeneral memory. Overall, findings suggested that functional avoidance is not part of a repertoire of avoidance strategies. Ironic process theory is discussed as an explanation for why higher avoidance was associated with a lower proportion of overgeneral memories in the non-clinical samples.

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Integrating trauma, self-disturbances, cognitive biases, and personality into a model for the risk of psychosis: a longitudinal study in a non-clinical sample

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience ◽

10.1007/s00406-021-01355-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Renata Pionke-Ubych ◽

Dorota Frydecka ◽

Andrzej Cechnicki ◽

Martyna Krężołek ◽

Barnaby Nelson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Cognitive Biases ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Self Report ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Personality Variables ◽

Psychosis Risk ◽

Self Transcendence ◽

Dependent Sample

AbstractThe hypothesis of the psychosis continuum enables to study the mechanisms of psychosis risk not only in clinical samples but in non-clinical as well. The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate self-disturbances (SD), a risk factor that has attracted substantial interest over the last two decades, in combination with trauma, cognitive biases and personality, and to test whether SD are associated with subclinical positive symptoms (PS) over a 12-month follow-up period. Our study was conducted in a non-clinical sample of 139 Polish young adults (81 females, age M = 25.32, SD = 4.51) who were selected for frequent experience of subclinical PS. Participants completed self-report questionnaires for the evaluation of SD (IPASE), trauma (CECA.Q), cognitive biases (DACOBS) and personality (TCI), and were interviewed for subclinical PS (CAARMS). SD and subclinical PS were re-assessed 12 months after baseline measurement. The hypothesized model for psychosis risk was tested using path analysis. The change in SD and subclinical PS over the 12-month period was investigated with non-parametric equivalent of dependent sample t-tests. The models with self-transcendence (ST) and harm avoidance (HA) as personality variables were found to be well-fitted and explained 34% of the variance in subclinical PS at follow-up. Moreover, we found a significant reduction of SD and subclinical PS after 12 months. Our study suggests that combining trauma, cognitive biases, SD and personality traits such as ST and HA into one model can enhance our understanding of appearance as well as maintenance of subclinical PS.

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Validity of the French form of the somatosensory amplification scale in a non-clinical sample

Health Psychology Research ◽

10.4081/hpr.2013.668 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 11 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Morgiane Bridou ◽

Colette Aguerre

Keyword(s):

Therapeutic Strategy ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Principal Component ◽

Self Report ◽

Clinical Population ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

French Version ◽

Somatosensory Amplification ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Interoceptive Sensitivity

The SomatoSensory Amplification Scale (SSAS) is a 10-item self-report instrument designed to assess the tendency to detect somatic and visceral sensations and experience them as unusually intense, toxic and alarming. This study examines the psychometric properties of a French version of the SSAS in a non-clinical population and, more specifically, explores its construct, convergent and discriminant validities. The SSAS was completed by 375 university students, together with measures of somatization propensity (SCL-90-R somatization subscale) and trait anxiety (STAI Y form). The results of principal component and confirmatory factor analyses suggest that the French version of the SSAS evaluates essentially a single, robust factor (Somatosensory amplification) and two kinds of somatic sensitivity (Exteroceptive sensitivity and Interoceptive sensitivity). Somatosensory amplification correlated with somatization tendency and anxiety propensity. These results encourage further investigations in French of the determinants and consequences of somatosensory amplification, and its use as a therapeutic strategy.

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Beliefs about Binge Eating: Psychometric Properties of the Eating Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ-18) in Eating Disorder, Obese, and Community Samples

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu10091306 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1306 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Amy Burton ◽

Deborah Mitchison ◽

Phillipa Hay ◽

Brooke Donnelly ◽

Christopher Thornton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorder ◽

Binge Eating ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Psychological Treatment ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Eating Behaviour ◽

Self Report ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Diagnostic Feature ◽

Metacognitive Beliefs

Binge eating is a core diagnostic feature of bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa binge/purge type, and is a common feature of “other specified” and “unspecified” feeding and eating disorders. It has been suggested that specific metacognitive beliefs about food, eating, and binge eating may play a key role in the maintenance of binge eating behaviour. The Eating Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ-18) provides a brief self-report assessment tool measuring three types of metacognitive beliefs: negative, positive, and permissive beliefs about food and eating. This study aimed to build on past research by validating the factor structure and psychometric properties of the EBQ-18 using both a clinical and non-clinical sample. A sample of 688 participants (n = 498 non-clinical participants, n = 161 participants seeking treatment for an eating disorder, and n = 29 participants seeking treatment for obesity) completed a battery of questionnaires, including the EBQ-18 and other measures of eating disorder symptoms and relevant constructs. A subset of 100 non-clinical participants completed the test battery again after an interval of two-weeks, and 38 clinical participants completed the EBQ-18 before and after receiving psychological treatment for their eating disorder. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted and psychometric properties of this measure were assessed. The results of this study provide support for the three-factor model of the EBQ-18. In addition, the EBQ-18 was found to be a valid and reliable measure, with excellent internal consistency, good test-retest reliability in the non-clinical sample, and also demonstrated evidence of sensitivity to treatment in clinical samples with binge eating pathology. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to identify optimal cut-off scores for the EBQ-18. This study provides valuable information about the utility of the EBQ-18 as a measure for use in both clinical and research settings.

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Psychometric concerns with the 10-item Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ10) as a measure of trait autism in the general population

Experimental Results ◽

10.1017/exp.2019.3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Emily C. Taylor ◽

Lucy A. Livingston ◽

Rachel A. Clutterbuck ◽

Punit Shah

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Screening Tool ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Self Report ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Future Research ◽

Autism Spectrum Quotient ◽

Internal Reliability ◽

Diagnostic Screening

AbstractThe 10-item Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ10) is a self-report questionnaire used in clinical and research settings as a diagnostic screening tool for autism in adults. The AQ10 is also increasingly being used to quantify trait autism along a unitary dimension and correlated against performance on other psychological/medical tasks. However, its psychometric properties have yet to be examined when used in this way. By analysing AQ10 data from a large non-clinical sample of adults (n = 6,595), we found that the AQ10 does not have a unifactorial factor structure, and instead appears to have several factors. The AQ10 also had poor internal reliability. Taken together, whilst the AQ10 has important clinical utility in screening for diagnosable autism, it may not be a psychometrically robust measure when administered in non-clinical samples from the general population. Therefore, we caution against its use as a measure of trait autism in future research.

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Longitudinal investigation into childhood-and adolescence-onset depression: Psychiatric outcome in early adulthood

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.188.3.216 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 188 (3) ◽

pp. 216-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 147

Author(s):

Valerie Dunn ◽

Ian M. Goodyer

Keyword(s):

Affective Disorder ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Self Report ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Recurrent Depression ◽

Severely Mentally Ill ◽

Persistent Depression ◽

Psychiatric Outcome

BackgroundMajor depression in childhood or adolescence increases the risk of affective disorder in adulthood. The precise nature and course of the subsequent disorder remain unclear.AimsTo investigate long-term psychiatric outcome of school-age depression in community and clinic samples.MethodA group of 113 young adults were followed up after a mean of 7.8 years (s.e.=15).ResultsGroups with persistent and recurrent depression were identified. Recurrence of affective disorder was similar in clinic and community groups. The clinic group had significantly longer index episodes; these were predicted by an early psychiatric history, longer episode duration before treatment and greater impairment. Being female, having higher self-report depression scores and comorbidity at index episode predicted earlier recurrence. Males were more likely to have persistent depression.ConclusionsPrognosis is similar in young people with depression from community and clinical samples. Boys from a clinical sample are at higher risk than girls of becoming persistently and severely mentally ill.

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Overlapping features between social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive spectrum in a clinical sample and in healthy controls: toward an integrative model

CNS Spectrums ◽

10.1017/s109285291900138x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 527-534

Author(s):

Barbara Carpita ◽

Dario Muti ◽

Alessandra Petrucci ◽

Francesca Romeo ◽

Camilla Gesi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Anxiety ◽

Behavioral Inhibition ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Interpersonal Sensitivity ◽

Integrative Model ◽

Clinical Population ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Compulsive Disorder

AbstractBackground.While the literature frequently highlighted an association between social anxiety disorder (SAD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), few studies investigated the overlapping features of these conditions. The presented work evaluated the relationship between SAD and OCD spectrum in a clinical population and in healthy controls (HC).Methods.Fifty-six patients with OCD, 51 with SAD, 43 with major depressive disorder (MDD), and 59 HC (N = 209) were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Social Phobia Spectrum (SCI-SHY), and the Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum (SCI-OBS).Results.SAD patients scored significantly higher than other groups on all SCI-SHY domains and total score; OCD patients scored significantly higher than HC. MDD patients scored significantly higher than HC on the SCI-SHY total, Behavioral inhibition, and Interpersonal sensitivity domains. OCD patients scored significantly higher than other groups on all SCI-OBS domains except Doubt, for which OCD and SAD scored equally high. SAD patients scored significantly higher than HC on the SCI-OBS total, Childhood/adolescence, Doubt, and Hypercontrol domains. MDD patients scored significantly higher than HC on the Hypercontrol domain. SCI-OBS and SCI-SHY were widely correlated among groups, although lower correlations were found among OCD patients. Stronger correlations were observed between SCI-SHY Interpersonal sensitivity and SCI-OBS Doubt, Obsessive-compulsive themes, and Hypercontrol; between SCI-SHY Specific anxieties/phobic features and SCI-OBS Obsessive-compulsive themes; and between SCI-SHY Behavioral inhibition and SCI-OBS Doubt, with slightly different patterns among groups.Conclusion.OCD and SAD spectrums widely overlap in clinical samples and in the general population. Interpersonal sensitivity and obsessive doubts might represent a common cognitive core for these conditions.

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Exploring How UK Adults' Attachment Style in Romantic Relationships Affects Engagement in Controlling Behaviours

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.649868 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Molly C. Gilbert ◽

Robert Blakey

Keyword(s):

Romantic Relationships ◽

Attachment Style ◽

Adult Attachment ◽

Attachment Styles ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Interpersonal Relationship ◽

Insecure Attachment ◽

Self Report ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Anxious Attachment

Copious studies have identified a link between disorganised attachment and engagement in controlling caregiving or controlling punitive behaviours. Studies have suggested that consistently engaging in these behaviours can cause difficulties within relationships and contribute to the development of a personality disorder. Most of the literature thus far has focused on engagement in controlling behaviours by children with a disorganised attachment style, despite there being theoretical grounds to suggest they may also be used by adults and across all types of insecure attachment. This study aimed to address these gaps by looking at adult attachment style and engagement in controlling behaviours in romantic relationships, across all insecure attachment styles; avoidant, anxious and disorganised. The current study recruited a non-clinical sample; specifically, 149 English-speaking adults, living in the UK, between the ages of 18 and 77 years old (M = 34.28, SD = 14.90). The participants answered an anonymous online questionnaire containing four self-report measures which assessed the participants' attachment security and organisation, caregiving style and engagement in punitive behaviours. The results indicated that participants who scored higher in disorganised attachment were more likely to use controlling punitive behaviours in their romantic relationships. Moreover, participants who reported a more insecure-anxious attachment style were more likely to use compulsive caregiving behaviours in their romantic relationships. In contrast, participants who reported a higher insecure avoidant attachment style were less likely to use compulsive caregiving behaviours in their romantic relationships. These results have implications for adult attachment theory and aid the understanding of some of the behaviours that can be harmful within romantic relationships. The findings could be used to help at-risk individuals develop healthy interpersonal relationship going forward.

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Avoidance and overgeneral memory

10.26686/wgtn.17068511 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Tim Ganly

Keyword(s):

Autobiographical Memory ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Memory Test ◽

Self Report ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Overgeneral Memory ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Avoidance Strategies ◽

The Relationship

Overgeneral memory is a phenomenon that occurs in depression in which people tend to remember temporally non-specific autobiographical memories. Overgeneral memory may be functional; by avoiding specific memories, potentially distressing emotions can avoided. This “functional avoidance” may be part of a repertoire of avoidance strategies people use when they are under stress. The question of the relationship between avoidance, stress, and overgeneral memory has been investigated using only laboratory-based stressors, and no previous research has examined the relationships in both non-clinical and clinical samples. Across four studies, this thesis investigated the relationships between avoidance and overgeneral memory in clinical and non-clinical samples and whether every-day stress moderates this relationship. Studies 1, 2, and 4 engaged undergraduate samples in which mean depression scores were low (non-clinical samples). Study 3 engaged a sample from a university counselling service in which the mean depression score was high (clinical sample). Participants completed self-report measures of avoidance and stress. They were also asked to remember specific events to a series of emotion cue words on the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). This thesis also investigated the possibility that avoidance may be associated with a reduction in memory performance on other tests of autobiographical memory besides the AMT, perhaps because other types of memories, not just specific, can be distressing. Thus, in Study 1, participants also completed the Autobiographical Memory Test-Reversed (AMT-R) in which they were asked to retrieve general memories. In addition, across studies, the pleasantness of events remembered to positive and negative cues was examined. In Study 4, the possible moderating role of rating pleasantness on the relationship between avoidance and overgeneral memory was examined. Results from the non-clinical samples indicated higher avoidance was associated with less overgeneral remembering on the AMT. In the clinical sample, there were no significant relationships between avoidance and overgeneral memory. There were no significant relationships between avoidance and AMT-R performance. Overall, stress did not moderate the relationship between avoidance and overgeneral memory. Mean pleasantness ratings for events remembered to positive and negative cues were congruent with cue valence. However, individual positive and negative cues did not always elicit memories for pleasant and unpleasant events, respectively. Rating (vs. not rating) the pleasantness of remembered events did not moderate the relationship between avoidance and overgeneral memory. Overall, findings suggested that functional avoidance is not part of a repertoire of avoidance strategies. Ironic process theory is discussed as an explanation for why higher avoidance was associated with a lower proportion of overgeneral memories in the non-clinical samples.

Download Full-text