Time Perspective among Patients Diagnosed with Neurotic and Personality Disorders − an Exploratory, Clinical Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Joanna Mostowik ◽  
Krzysztof Rutkowski ◽  
Tadeusz Ostrowski ◽  
Michał Mielimąka

Abstract (1) An assessment of the structure of time perspective (TP) in a group of patients with neurotic and personality disorders (ICD-10: F4x, F60.x, F61) treated with group psychotherapy. (2) An analysis of the differences between the structure of TP in patients and the general population in order to expand the understanding of the relations between TP and mental health. Data were collected from 49 patients at the University Hospital Day Centre for the Treatment of Neurotic Disorders and Behavioural Syndromes. The measurement of TP was performed with the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory. A licensed psychiatrist conducted the diagnosis of neurotic and personality disorders, with additional data obtained from the Symptom Checklist KO ‘O’ and the Neurotic Personality Questionnaire KON-2006. The statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the structure of TP between patients and the general population. Among patients, the intensity of the past experienced negatively was significantly higher, and subsequently, the degree of the past experienced positively was lower. Patients remain in the negative past and concentrate much more on the pain and the worrying memories. They give much less attention to what was and what is valuable and pleasant in their life. Results of this research reveal distinct features of the structure of TP in the studied group. Findings underline the clinical relevance of TP at various stages of therapy. Restoring a balanced time perspective could be regarded as a tenable goal for psychotherapy and perhaps an innovative indicator of the treatment’s effectiveness.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Mioni ◽  
Marc Wittmann ◽  
Elena Prunetti ◽  
Franca Stablum

Patients with borderline personality disorders (BPD) show heightened negative affect and maladaptive emotion-regulation strategies. An individual's time perspective towards the past, present, and future as well as the feeling of time passage are strongly related to affect and emotion regulation. We therefore assessed the time perspective (Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, ZTPI) and the subjective passage of time for present and past time intervals (Subjective Time Questionnaire, STQ) in 17 patients with BPD between the ages of 18 and 52 and 17 control subjects matched for gender, age and education. Patients with BPD show deviations in nearly all time orientations in the ZTPI: lower scores in the future and the past-positive dimension and higher scores in the present-fatalistic and past-negative dimensions. Patients deviate significantly more than controls from a balanced time perspective (BTP). Regarding the STQ, patients with BPD feel a general expansion of time at present but not for past intervals. Taken together, we show how BPD can be understood as a strong imbalance in individual time orientations and a most likely negatively felt expansion of subjective time in daily life.


2020 ◽  
pp. 003329412097816
Author(s):  
Joanna Mostowik ◽  
Michał Mielimąka ◽  
Krzysztof Rutkowski ◽  
Tadeusz Ostrowski

Aim The main objective of the study is to explore relations between the time perspective, neurotic symptoms, anxiety, and defense mechanisms in the group of patients diagnosed with neurotic and personality disorders (ICD-10 groups: F4x, F60.x and F61) treated with group psychotherapy. The research is conducted on the theoretical basis of the Zimbardo and Boyd’s Time Perspective Theory. Methods The study included 49 patients treated in the day ward for the Treatment of Neurotic Disorders and Behavioral Syndromes at the University Hospital. The measurement of the TP was performed with the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory. Patients also completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Defense Style Questionnaire 40. The diagnosis was done by licensed psychiatrists and supported with the measures: Symptom Checklist KO“O”, Neurotic Personality Questionnaire KON-2006. Results Multiple regression analysis models showed that the four time perspectives (past negative, present fatalistic, present hedonistic, and future) are predicted in different variations by the level of anxiety state or trait and repertoire of used defense mechanisms (immature or mature). Conclusions Considering the established bilateral correlations, change in the time perspective may constitute an important factor in the reduction of neurotic symptoms, possibly through changes in the repertoire of utilized defense mechanisms. However, there is also possible that altering neurotic symptomatology would alter time perspective. The assessment of the time perspective in patients with neurotic and personality disorders may provide useful data for the diagnosis and the monitoring of psychotherapy effectiveness. Based on the results of this study conducting further research on the role of the changes in the time perspective in the course of psychotherapy is recommended and necessary to expand the understanding of the relations observed in this study.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-133
Author(s):  
Vladimir R. Radev ◽  
Radko N. Radev ◽  
Daniela A. Arabadzhieva ◽  
Vladin I. Petrov ◽  
Nikolay H. Kolev

Summary In the past two decades, the demographic crisis in Bulgaria has been widely debated. According to the National Statistical Institute (NSI), the proportion of people aged 65 and over is increasing, despite the general population decline in the country. To investigate whether the age structure of patients operated on has changed during the past 10 years and assess the need to reorganize the training of anesthetists,aretrospective study in the anesthesia electronic database of the University Hospital in Rouse was carried out. The data of anesthesia performed by anesthesiologists in 2005, 2010 and 2015 in patients aged 65 and over were summarized. The distribution of these patients by ASA Physical Classification System and frequency of complications during anesthesia were analyzed. The average annual number of anaesthesias for the three years was almost unchanged and amounted to about 5500. The proportion of patients aged 65 and over increased from 30.54%in 2005 to 35.72%in 2010, and 37.81%in 2015. The distribution of patients in according to the ASA Classification changed significantly: the percentage of patients ASAI-IIdropped from 36.19%in 2005 to 11.85%in 2015. The patients in the ASA III-IVgroups for the three analyzed years was 41.86%, 58.66%and 65.30%, respectively, and this was mainly due to the increase in the ASAIVpatients. It is necessary to build multidisciplinary teams and prepare specialized protocols for behavior in geriatric patients. It is imperative that anesthesiologists possess specialized knowledge about age-related organ changes and their effects on anesthesia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
The COMEPA group

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has dramatically changed our lives. In the past months, hospitals were saturated of patients; therefore, it is still important to have simple and standardized prognostic factors and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of medications commonly used for COVID-19. We aimed to collect data of the patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics Wards at the University Hospital (Policlinico) ‘P. Giaccone’ in Palermo, Italy (COMEPA, COVID-19 Medicina Policlinico Palermo), with the main purpose of finding prognostic tools that can be easily used in clinical practice in order to identify patients hospitalized for/with COVID-19 at higher risk of negative outcomes, such as mortality, transfer to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and institutionalization, as well as evaluating the efficacy/safety of medications commonly used for COVID-19. For reaching these aims, the medical records of approximately 600 patients will be recorded, having data on several parameters and including as outcomes mortality, ICU placement, institutionalization. With the COMEPA study, we therefore plan to update current literature, giving new data on prognostic factors and on the efficacy/safety of some medications used for COVID-19.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo Garcia ◽  
Uta Sailer ◽  
Ali Al Nima ◽  
Trevor Archer

Background: A “balanced” time perspective has been suggested to have a positive influence on well-being: a sentimental and positive view of the past (high Past Positive), a less pessimistic attitude toward the past (low Past Negative), the desire of experiencing pleasure with slight concern for future consequences (high Present Hedonistic), a less fatalistic and hopeless view of the future (low Present Fatalistic), and the ability to find reward in achieving specific long-term goals (high Future). We used the affective profiles model (i.e., combinations of individuals’ experience of high/low positive/negative affectivity) to investigate differences between individuals in time perspective dimensions and to investigate if the influence of time perspective dimensions on well-being was moderated by the individual’s type of profile. Method: Participants (N = 720) answered to the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and two measures of well-being: the Temporal Satisfaction With Life Scale and the Scales of Psychological Well-Being-short version. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted to identify differences in time perspective dimensions and well-being among affective profiles. Four Structural Equation Models (SEM) were used to investigate which time perspective dimensions predicted well-being for each profile. Results: Comparisons between individuals at the extreme of the affective profiles model suggested that individuals with a self-fulfilling profile (high positive/low negative affect) were characterized by a “balanced” time perspective and higher well-being compared to individuals with a self-destructive profile (low positive/high negative affect). However, a different pattern emerged when individuals who differed in one affect dimension but matched in the other were compared to each other. For instance, decreases in the past negative time perspective dimension lead to high positive affect when negative affect is high (i.e., self-destructive vs. high affective) but to low negative affect when positive affect was high (i.e., high affective vs. self-fulfilling). The moderation analyses showed, for example, that for individuals with a self-destructive profile, psychological well-being was significantly predicted by the past negative, present fatalistic and future time perspectives. Among individuals with a high affective or a self-fulfilling profile, psychological well-being was significantly predicted by the present fatalistic dimension. Conclusions: The interactions found here go beyond the postulation of a “balanced” time perspective being the only way of promoting well-being. Instead, it presents a more person-centered approach to achieve higher levels of emotional, cognitive, and psychological well-being.


Author(s):  
Nadezhda S. Pavlova ◽  
Yelena A. Sergiyenko

The article deals with the peculiarities of psychological and physical health components as the life quality indicators in correlation with the time perspective at the late ontogenesis stage (aged 58–93) in groups of people leading different lifestyles: elderly non-working people who are at home-based social services; elderly non-working people, leading an active lifestyle. It has been established that subjective indicators of life quality is at the rather low level and decreases with age. An active lifestyle, as well as cohabitation living, contributes to keep higher life quality. The prevailing temporal orientations in the general sample are «Future» and «Positive Past». A balanced time perspective is observed in one third of respondents. The Past and the Present are correlated, while the mode of the future is isolated. Active pensioners are more future-oriented then the older people at social services. The age of 64–75 years is the most balanced, when all three aspects of time are actualised and integrated in the personality time perspective. Single or cohabiting living does not affect the personality time perspective. The life quality is correlated with the time perspective: the factors «Hedonistic present», «Fatalistic present» and «Negative past» are mainly related to the psychological component of health and its parameters.


2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (15) ◽  
pp. 3235-3243 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. CZEPIEL ◽  
J. KĘDZIERSKA ◽  
G. BIESIADA ◽  
M. BIRCZYŃSKA ◽  
W. PERUCKI ◽  
...  

SUMMARYOver the past two decades Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has appeared as a major public health threat. We performed a retrospective study based on the records of patients hospitalized for CDI at the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland, between 2008 and 2014. In the study period, CDI occurred in 1009 individuals. There were 790 (78%) individuals who developed infection only once, whereas 219 (22%) developed infection more than once. The percentage of deaths within 14 days of CDI confirmation was 2·4%, with a mean age of 74·2 ± 15·9 years. Crude mortality was 12·9% in medical wards, 5·6% for surgical wards and 27·7% in the ICU setting. The time span between diagnosis and death was 5·1 days on average. Between 2008 and 2012 a 6·5-fold increase of CDI frequency with a posterior stabilization and even reduction in 2013 and 2014 was observed. According to the data analysed, 2/3 patients in our population developed CDI during their hospitalization even though they were admitted for different reasons. Medical wards pose a significantly higher risk of CDI than the surgical ones. Age is a risk factor for CDI recurrence. In the case of patients who died, death occurred shortly after diagnosis. The first CDI episode poses much higher risk of mortality than the consecutive ones.


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