The relationship between stressful life situations and changes in alcohol consumption in a general population sample

Objective: This study assessed the prevalence of pathological dissociation in the general population, and the relationship between pathological dissociation and sociodemographic and several psychiatric variables. Method: The stratified population sample consisted of 2001 subjects. The study questionnaires included the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Dissociative Experiences Scale-Taxon, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and sociodemographic background. Results: The prevalence of pathological dissociation (DES-T ≥ 20) was 3.4% in the general population and did not differ significantly between genders. Men scored higher than women in the amnesia subscale, and women in the absorption and imaginative involvement subscale. The relationship between pathological dissociation, alexithymia, depression and suicidality was strong. The likelihood of pathological dissociation was nearly nine-fold higher among depressive subjects, more than seven-fold higher among alexithymic subjects, and more than four-fold higher among suicidal subjects than among the others. Frequent alcohol consumption also associated significantly with pathological dissociation. Conclusions: A significant relationship between pathological dissociation, depression, alexithymia, and suicidality was found in the general population. The importance of these factors should be examined in a prospective study design to determine causality.

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Attachment style, psychotic phenomena and the relationship with aggression: an investigation in a general population sample

Journal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research ◽

10.1108/jacpr-04-2018-0356 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 47-58

Author(s):

Katherine Whale ◽

Kathleen Green ◽

Kevin Browne

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Attachment Style ◽

Attachment Styles ◽

Population Sample ◽

Explanatory Models ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

General Population Sample ◽

Psychotic Experiences ◽

Content Type ◽

The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between attachment style, sub-clinical symptoms of psychosis and aggression in a general population sample.Design/methodology/approachUsing both convenience and snowball sampling, participants in the community (n=213) completed an online questionnaire including previously validated measures of adult attachment, aggression and psychotic experiences.FindingsResults suggested that there were statistically significant correlations between all study variables. Multiple linear regression demonstrated that total psychotic-like experiences and attachment scores significantly predicted variance in total aggression. Moderation approaches revealed that the relationship between psychotic-like events and aggression was stronger in individuals with more insecure attachment styles.Research limitations/implicationsThis generalisability of the results is compromised by the sampling methodology and the use of self-report tools. However, the significant results would support larger scale replications investigating similar variables.Originality/valueThis study suggests there is a relationship between psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and facets of aggression in the general population. These results suggest that attachment is a contributing factor to aggression associated with PLEs, and highlight the need for similar investigations within clinical samples. The results imply that attachment may be a useful construct for explanatory models of the relationship between adverse childhood experiences, psychotic experiences and aggression.

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Changes in the prevalence of psychiatric disorder in a community are related to changes in the mean level of psychiatric symptoms

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291700035972 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. 1253-1260 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Joyce E. Whittington ◽

Felicia A. Huppert

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Psychiatric Disorder ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

Population Sample ◽

General Population Sample ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Mean ◽

First Time ◽

The Relationship

SynopsisThe paper of Anderson et al. (1993), based on cross-sectional data, showed that minor psychiatric disorder in a population is linearly related to the mean number of psychiatric symptoms in the population. The present investigation asks whether the same relationship holds longitudinally as well as cross-sectionally. Data from a 7-year follow-up of a general population sample demonstrate, for the first time, that a relationship exists between changes in prevalence of psychiatric disorder and changes in the mean number of psychiatric symptoms in a given population. Moreover, the relationship is linear; a one-point decrease in mean scores on the GHQ-30 is associated with a 6% decrease in prevalence of disorder.

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Relating severity of gambling to cognitive distortions in a representative sample of problem gamblers

Journal of Gambling Issues ◽

10.4309/jgi.2014.29.2 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

John A. Cunningham ◽

David C. Hodgins ◽

Tony Toneatto

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Problem Gambling ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Cognitive Distortions ◽

Population Sample ◽

Positive Association ◽

General Population Sample ◽

Problem Gamblers ◽

Gambling Severity ◽

The Relationship

The current study explored the relationship in a general population sample between problem gambling severity and cognitive distortions about gambling. A representative sample of problem gamblers (N = 766) was asked about cognitive distortions related to gambling. A positive association between gambling severity and cognitive distortions emerged, even when the variables associated with participants' demographic characteristics were accounted for. The current study demonstrates that the relationship between problem gambling severity and cognitive distortions does exist in the general population of problem gamblers. This finding emphasizes the key role that cognitive distortions may play in the development and maintenance of pathological gambling.

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