Evolution of spirituality and religiousness in chronic schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorders: A 3 years follow-up study

Purpose : Spirituality and religiousness have been shown to be highly prevalent in patients with schizophrenia. Religion can help instil a positive sense of self, decrease the impact of symptoms and provide social contacts. Religion may also be a source of suffering. In this context, this research explores whether religion remains stable over time. Methods : From an initial cohort of 115 out-patients, 80% completed the 3-years follow-up assessment. In order to study the evolution over time, a hierarchical cluster analysis using average linkage was performed on factorial scores at baseline and follow-up and their differences. A sensitivity analysis was secondarily performed to check if the outcome was influenced by other factors such as changes in mental states using mixed models. Results : Religion was stable over time for 63% patients; positive changes occurred for 20% (i.e., significant increase of religion as a resource or a transformation of negative religion to a positive one) and negative changes for 17% (i.e., decrease of religion as a resource or a transformation of positive religion to a negative one). Change in spirituality and/or religiousness was not associated with social or clinical status, but with reduced subjective quality of life and self-esteem; even after controlling for the influence of age, gender, quality of life and clinical factors at baseline. Conclusions : In this context of patients with chronic schizophrenia, religion appeared to be labile. Qualitative analyses showed that those changes expressed the struggles of patients and suggest that religious issues need to be discussed in clinical settings.

Early dyadic patterns of mother-infant interactions and outcomes of prematurity at 18 months.

OBJECTIVE: With the increased survival of very preterm infants, there is a growing concern for their developmental and socioemotional outcomes. The quality of the early mother-infant relationship has been noted as 1 of the factors that may exacerbate or soften the potentially adverse impact of preterm birth, particularly concerning the infant's later competencies and development. The first purpose of the study was to identify at 6 months of corrected age whether there were specific dyadic mother-infant patterns of interaction in preterm as compared with term mother-infant dyads. The second purpose was to examine the potential impact of these dyadic patterns on the infant's behavioral and developmental outcomes at 18 months of corrected age. METHODS: During a 12-month period (January-December 1998), all preterm infants who were <34 weeks of gestational age and hospitalized at the NICU of the Lausanne University Hospital were considered for inclusion in this longitudinal prospective follow-up study. Control healthy term infants were recruited during the same period from the maternity ward of our hospital. Mother-infant dyads with preterm infants (n = 47) and term infants (n = 25) were assessed at 6 months of corrected age during a mother-infant play interaction and coded according to the Care Index. This instrument evaluates the mother's interactional behavior according to 3 scales (sensitivity, control, and unresponsiveness) and the child's interactional behavior according to 4 scales (cooperation, compliance, difficult, and passivity). At 18 months, behavioral outcomes of the children were assessed on the basis of a semistructured interview of the mother, the Symptom Check List. The Symptom Check List explores 4 groups of behavioral symptoms: sleeping problems, eating problems, psychosomatic symptoms, and behavioral and emotional disorders. At the same age, developmental outcomes were evaluated using the Griffiths Developmental Scales. Five areas were evaluated: locomotor, personal-social, hearing and speech, eye-hand coordination, and performance. RESULTS: Among the possible dyadic patterns of interaction, 2 patterns emerge recurrently in mother-infant preterm dyads: a "cooperative pattern" with a sensitive mother and a cooperative-responsive infant (28%) and a "controlling pattern" with a controlling mother and a compulsive-compliant infant (28%). The remaining 44% form a heterogeneous group that gathers all of the other preterm dyads and is composed of 1 sensitive mother-passive infant; 10 controlling mothers with a cooperative, difficult, or passive infant; and 10 unresponsive mothers with a cooperative, difficult, or passive infant. Among the term control subjects, 68% of the dyads are categorized as cooperative pattern dyads, 12% as controlling pattern dyads, and the 20% remaining as heterogeneous dyads. At 18 months, preterm infants of cooperative pattern dyads have similar outcomes as the term control infants. Preterm infants of controlling pattern dyads have significantly fewer positive outcomes as compared with preterm infants of cooperative pattern dyads, as well as compared with term control infants. They display significantly more behavioral symptoms than term infants, including more eating problems than term infants as well as infants from cooperative preterm dyads. Infants of the controlling preterm dyads do not differ significantly for the total development quotient but have worse personal-social development than term infants and worse hearing-speech development than infants from cooperative preterm dyads. The preterm infants of the heterogeneous group have outcomes that can be considered as intermediate with no significant differences compared with preterm infants from the cooperative pattern or the controlling pattern dyads. CONCLUSION: Among mother-preterm infant dyads, we identified 2 specific patterns of interaction that could play either a protective (cooperative pattern) or a risk-precipitating (controlling pattern) role on developmental and behavioral outcome, independent of perinatal risk factors and of the family's socioeconomic background. The controlling pattern is much more prevalent among preterm than term dyads and is related to a less favorable infant outcome. However, the cooperative pattern still represents almost 30% of the preterm dyads, with infants' outcome comparable to the ones of term infants. These results point out the impact of the quality of mother-infant relationship on the infant's outcome. The most important clinical implication should be to support a healthy parent-infant relationship already in the NICU but also in the first months of the infant's life. Early individualized family-based interventions during neonatal hospitalization and transition to home have been shown to reduce maternal stress and depression and increase maternal self-esteem and to improve positive early parent-preterm infant interactions.

Programa d'intervenció d'educació emocional i social per a l'etapa infantil: l'educació de la consciència emocional i l'autoestima

L’objectiu d’aquest treball és comprovar si l’aplicació d’un programa d’educació emocional i social millora el benestar emocional i social dels infants d’Educació Infantil. Per tal d’assolir aquest objectiu, primerament es va triar una mostra de 4 infants per realitzar el test PAI (Precepció de l’Autoconcepte Infantil) i així, mesurar el seu nivell d’autoestima. Després es va aplicar el programa d’educació emocional i social a l’aula, treballant la consciència emocional i l’autoestima. Seguidament es va tornar a realitzar el test PAI per poder observar i mesurar els canvis en el percentil dels mateixos 4 infants. S’han observat unes millores en el nivell d’autoestima dels nens i nenes de l’aula; s’ha adquirit una bona consciència emocional i s’han anat desenvolupant habilitats socioemocionals i, per tant, ha millorat el clima de l’aula. El treball de l’educació emocional i social a les aules és necessari per millorar el benestar emocional i social dels infants i així, ajudar en seu desenvolupament integral.

El treball amb percussió corporal ajuda a millorar l'atenció i la concentració?

Diferents civilitzacions han basat les seves mostres culturals en el ritme i l’ús del cos com a instrument. Moltes són tradicions ancestrals, que passen de generació en generació, sense cap anotació musical. Per tant, aquestes danses, basades en la percussió corporal, tenen com a elements bàsics l’atenció i la memorització. Diversos professionals (K. Terry, J. Romero, S. Serratosa...) han defensat que la pràctica de la percussió corporal aporta beneficis a tots nivells: potenciació de l’autoestima, reconeixement i acceptació del propi cos... Són precisament aquests fets els que han convertit aquesta disciplina en una metodologia present a les aules de Primària. L’objectiu d’aquesta recerca segueix aquesta línia: comprovar si, a través del treball de la percussió corporal, els alumnes de cicle mitjà del centre La Monjoia milloren la seva capacitat d’atenció i memorització. Per avaluar-ho, s’usaran un test de percepció auditiva i un de percepció visual i els resultats es contrastaran amb l’opinió de diversos docents.

Proposta d’un programa d’intervenció psicoeducativa per a un infant de 6 anys amb possible TDAH

Aquest treball té per objectiu identificar i avaluar preventivament les característiques d’un infant de sis anys que podrien desenvolupar el Trastorn per Dèficit d’Atenció amb Hiperactivitat. Per a la realització d’aquest treball es va proposar realitzar un programa psicopedagògic enfocat a millorar diferents comportaments negatius del propi infant. El programa està constituït per cinc activitats, realitzades amb tot el grup-classe, que intenten millorar diversos conceptes: la consciència emocional, el nivell d’empatia, l’autoestima i l’autocontrol emocional. El subjectes del grup d’intervenció han millorat en els diferents comportaments, i en concret, s’ ha vist un canvi important positiu en la conducta de l’infant. A més, l’observació d’actuacions no adequades en infants d’edats primerenques suposarà realitzar un bon treball psicopedagògic per poder-les prevenir o disminuir.

Com treballar l'autoestima al parvulari mitjançant activitats d'aprenentatge

L’autoestima és un aspecte que influeix en el desenvolupament integral dels infants. Amb freqüència la nostra autoestima es veu afectada per les experiències i exigències que rebem del món exterior. Per tant, un infant necessita tenir una adequada autoestima, d’aquesta manera, tindrà més confiança en si mateix, més interès i serà més positiu en tots els aspectes. El treball que trobem a continuació està format per un marc teòric i un marc empíric. En el marc teòric els conceptes que es treballen són l’educació inclusiva i l’atenció a la diversitat com a àmbits on es desenvolupa l’autoestima dels alumnes. En relació a l’autoestima es tracten temes com les característiques bàsiques que presenten els infants segons el seu grau d’autoestima (excessiva, adequada, baixa, deficient), a més de la importància del paper del mestre en la formació d’aquesta. En el marc empíric s’exposen les tècniques que s’utilitzen per avaluar l’autoestima i les possibles activitats d’intervenció que es poden portar a terme a l’aula per tal de treballar-la.

Mesurer la stigmatisation perçue chez les personnes souffrant de troubles psychiques : traduction française, validation et adaptation de la Stigma Scale [French translation, validation and adaptation of the Stigma Scale].

AIM: People suffering from mental illness are exposed to stigma. However, only few tools are available to assess stigmatization as perceived from the patient's perspective. The aim of this study is to adapt and validate a French version of the Stigma Scale (King et al., 2007 [8]). This self-report questionnaire has a three-factor structure: discrimination, disclosure and positive aspects of mental illness. Discrimination subscale refers to perceived negative reactions of others. Disclosure subscale refers mainly to managing disclosure to avoid discrimination and finally positive aspects subscale taps into how patients are becoming more accepting, more understanding toward their illness. METHOD: In the first step, internal consistency, convergent validity and test-retest reliability of the French adaptation of the 28-item scale were assessed in a sample of 183 patients. Results of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) did not confirm the hypothesized structure. In the light of the failed attempts to validate the original version, an alternative 9-item short-form version of the Stigma Scale, maintaining the integrity of the original model, was developed based on results of exploratory factor analyses in the first sample and cross-validated in a new sample of 234 patients. RESULTS: Results of CFA did not confirm that the data fitted well to the three-factor model of the 28-item Stigma Scale (χ(2)/df=2.02, GFI=0.77, AGFI=0.73, RMSEA=0.07, CFI=0.77 and NNFI=0.75). Cronbach's α was excellent for discrimination (0.84) and disclosure (0.83) subscales but poor for potential positive aspects (0.46). External validity was satisfactory. Overall Stigma Scale total score was negatively correlated with the score on Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (r=-0.49), and each subscale was significantly correlated with a visual analogue scale that referred to the specific aspect of stigma (0.43≤|r|≤0.60). Intraclass correlation coefficients between 0.68 and 0.89 indicated good test-retest reliability. The results of the CFA demonstrated that the items chosen for the short version of the Stigma Scale have the expected fit properties (χ(2)/df=1.02, GFI=0.98, AGFI=0.98, RMSEA=0.01, CFI=1.0 and NNFI=1.0). Considering the small number (three) of items in each subscale of the short version of the Stigma Scale, α coefficients for discrimination (0.57), disclosure (0.80) and potential positive aspects subscales (0.62) are considered as good. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the 9-item French short version of the Stigma Scale is a useful, reliable and valid self-report questionnaire to assess perceived stigmatization in people suffering from mental illness. The time of completion is really short and questions are well understood and accepted by the patients.

"Varmaan se oma itsetunto on nousussa" : itsereflektio ja kohentunut vointi haastattelupuheessa

Summary: "I guess my self-esteem is going up" : self-reflection and reports of improved condition in interview talk

Ego identity in adolescence: preliminary validation of a French short-form of the EIPQ

Following the seminal work on personal identity of Erikson, Marcia's identity status model has been one of the most enduring paradigms. The Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ; Balistreri, Busch-Rossnagel, & Geissinger, 1995) is a widely used measure of identity status. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure and the reliability of a French version of the EIPQ. The hypothesized structures were not confirmed. In light of the failed attempts to validate the original version, an alternative short-form version of the EIPQ (EIPQ-SF), maintaining the integrity of the original model, was developed in one sample and cross-validated in another sample. Additionally, theoretically consistent associations between the EIPQ-SF dimensions and self-esteem confirmed convergent validity. Globally, the results indicated that the French short-version of the EIPQ might be a useful instrument for the assessment of the identity statuses in adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Personality trait risk factors for attempted suicide among young women with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: - Clinical observations and a review of the literature led us to hypothesize that certain personality and character traits could provide improved understanding, and thus improved prevention, of suicidal behaviour among young women with eating disorders. METHOD: - The clinical group consisted of 152 women aged between 18 and 24 years, with DSM-IV anorexia nervosa/restrictive type (AN-R = 66), anorexia nervosa/purging type (AN-P = 37), bulimia nervosa/non-purging type (BN-NP = 9), or bulimia nervosa/purging type (BN-P = 40). The control group consisted of 140 subjects. The assessment measures were the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-second version (MMPI-2) scales and subscales, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) used to control for current depressive symptoms, plus a specific questionnaire concerning suicide attempts. RESULTS: - Suicide attempts were most frequent in subjects with purging behaviour (30.0% for BN-P and 29.7% for AN-P). Those attempting suicide among subjects with eating disorders were mostly students (67.8%). For women with AN-R the scales for 'Depression' and 'Antisocial practices' represented significant suicidal risk, for women with AN-P the scales for 'Hysteria', 'Psychopathic deviate', 'Shyness/Self-consciousness', 'Antisocial Practices', 'Obsessiveness' and 'Low self-esteem' were risk indicators and for women with BN-P the 'Psychasthenia', 'Anger' and 'Fears' scales were risk indicators. CONCLUSION: - This study provides interesting results concerning the personality traits of young women with both eating disorders and suicidal behaviour. Students and those with purging behaviour are most at risk. Young women should be given more attention with regard to the risk of suicide attempts if they: (a). have AN-R with a tendency to self-punishment and antisocial conduct, (b). have AN-P with multiple physical complaints, are not at ease in social situations and have antisocial behaviour, or (c). if they have BN-P and tend to be easily angered with obsessive behaviour and phobic worries. The MMPI-2 is an interesting assessment method for the study of traits indicating a risk of suicidal behaviour in young subjects, after controlling for current depressive pathology.

Viisi suurta persoonallisuuden piirrettä luottamuksen ja itsetunnon selittäjinä

Summary: How the big five personality traits explain trust and self-esteem

Evaluación de la educación emocional en el ciclo medio de Educación Primaria

El principal propósito de la educación consiste en favorecer el desarrollo integral de la persona, lo cual implica atender el aspecto cognitivo y afectivo. Tradicionalmente, se han priorizado sólo los contenidos cognitivos por este motivo queremos incidir sobre los afectos. El objetivo general de este trabajo de investigación que presentamos consiste en aplicar y evaluar un Programa de Educación Emocional (PEEP), integrado dentro del currículum de Primaria de ciclo medio que ayude a prevenir los efectos nocivos de las emociones negativas y facilite la relación consigo mismo y con los demás. Objetivo general que se constatara a partir de cuatro criterios: conseguir un mejor conocimiento de las propias emociones y de las emociones de los demás, desarrollar estrategias de regulación emocional, mejorar la autoestima, aprender habilidades de vida y socioemocionales. Pues, la finalidad es intervenir en la mejora de la educación emocional de los alumnos entre los 8 y los 10 años, en total 510 alumnos de los cuales 104 formaron la muestra de investigación. Fueron divididos en dos grupos el grupo experimental y el grupo control, ambos constituían una muestra homogénea y estadísticamente comparable por lo que podíamos plantearnos una intervención y valorar su incidencia. Los resultados indican que mejora el nivel de Educación Emocional (EE) de estos alumnos con un nivel de significación de p= 0,001. A partir de este momento, podemos concretar que los resultados conseguidos por los alumnos que han seguido la aplicación del programa mejoran significativamente. Este resultado, nos permite afirmar que el uso intencional del programa de educación emocional para mejorar el ámbito afectivo ha incidido positivamente en el proceso de aprendizaje de los alumnos. Sin embargo consideramos esencial llevar a cabo una formación y posterior evaluación del profesorado en EE, como paso previo necesario para una aplicación óptima del programa.

Psychosexual development in men with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism on long-term treatment: a mixed methods study.

INTRODUCTION: Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a rare, genetic, reproductive endocrine disorder characterized by absent puberty and infertility. Limited information is available on the psychosocial impact of CHH and psychosexual development in these patients. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of CHH on psychosexual development in men on long-term treatment. METHODS: A sequential mixed methods explanatory design was used. First, an online survey (quantitative) was used to quantify the frequency of psychosexual problems among CHH men. Second, patient focus groups (qualitative) were conducted to explore survey findings in detail and develop a working model to guide potential nursing and interdisciplinary interventions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient characteristics, frequency of body shame, difficulty with intimate relationships, and never having been sexually active were assessed. Additionally, we collected subjective patient-reported outcomes regarding the impact of CHH on psychological/emotional well-being, intimate relationships, and sexual activity. RESULTS: A total of 101 CHH men on long-term treatment (>1 year) were included for the analysis of the online survey (mean age 37 ± 11 years, range 19-66, median 36). Half (52/101, 51%) of the men had been seen at a specialized academic center and 37/101 (37%) reported having had fertility-inducing treatment. A high percentage of CHH men experience psychosexual problems including difficulty with intimate relationships (70%) and body image concerns/body shame (94/101, 93%), and the percentage of men never having been sexually active is five times the rate in a reference group (26% vs. 5.4%, P < 0.001). Focus groups revealed persisting body shame and low self-esteem despite long-term treatment that has lasting impact on psychosexual functioning. CONCLUSIONS: CHH men frequently experience psychosexual problems that pose barriers to intimate relationships and initiating sexual activity. These lingering effects cause significant distress and are not ameliorated by long-term treatment. Psychosexual assessment in CHH men with appropriate psychological support and treatment should be warranted in these patients. Dwyer AA, Quinton R, Pitteloud N, and Morin D. Psychosexual development in men with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism on long-term treatment: A mixed methods study. Sex Med 2015;3:32-41.

Estudio y análisis de los trastornos del comportamiento a través de las revistas científicas. Revisión blbliográfica de 2004 a 2008

El interés por la producción científica en relación con los trastornos del comportamiento alimentario (TCA) ha ido en aumento durante los últimos años, lo que puede ser atribuido a varios factores, entre ellos el surgimiento de nuevas publicaciones más selectivas y especializadas. La creciente investigación examina las preocupaciones de la imagen corporal y otras conductas asociadas, tales como el desarrollo de bajos niveles de autoestima y de trastornos del comportamiento alimentario entre otros. Este trabajo, muestra una revisión bibliográfica realizada a 136 artículos publicados en 60 revistas de ámbito internacional. Los artículos comprenden una selección realizada entre el año 2004 y el año 2008, como fruto de una revisión que sirvió de base para el desarrollo del proyecto I+D denominado “La publicidad de televisión entre otros factores socioculturales influyentes en los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria. Estudio en sanas, enfermas y expertos” (2007-2010), proyecto del cual las autoras forman parte. El artículo concluye que existe una amplia tendencia a examinar los medios de comunicación y su influencia en los Trastornos del Comportamiento Alimentario y que las muestras tienden a utilizar a mujeres en su mayoría jóvenes, las cuales presentan un mayor grado de incidencia hacia los trastornos alimentarios que los hombres, en grupos con una edad cada vez menor.

Identiteetti ja luopuminen perheyrityksen sukupolvenvaihdoksessa

Tutkimus on perheyrittäjyystutkimusta, se käsittelee perheyrityksessä tapahtunutta sukupolvenvaihdosta sekä siihen liittyvää luopumisen prosessia. Poikkitieteellisenä lähestymistapana käytetään sosiologisia ja psykologisia katsantokantoja identiteetin rakentumisesta ja sen muuttumisesta. Luopumiskäsitettä lähestytään perheyrittäjän identiteetin rakentumisen ja muuttumisen kautta. Tutkimus etsii vastausta neljään kysymykseen: 1. Millainen on perheyrittäjän identiteetti? 2. Miten perheyrityksen sukupolvenvaihdos vaikuttaa identiteettiin? 3. Mitä luopuminen tarkoittaa sukupolvenvaihdoksessa? 4. Mitä sukupolvenvaihdoksessa todellisuudessa tapahtuu? Tutkimuksessa paneudutaan luopujan ja jatkajan näkökulmiin, joita tarkastellaan elämänkertatarinoiden avulla. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu viidestä yrityksestä, joissa jollakin tasolla on sukupolvenvaihdos toteutettu. Tutkimuksessa on haastateltu kolmeatoista henkilöä. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että perheyrittäjän identiteetti on hyvin kompleksinen ja vaikeasti lähestyttävä asia. Perheyrittäjän persoona on vahva ja perhe sekä yritys vaikuttavat oleellisesti sen muotoutumiseen. Individuaalisuus jää usein familistisen näkemyksen jalkoihin. Sukupolvenvaihdos vaikutti sekä luopujan että jatkajan identiteettiin ratkaisevasti. Luopujat kohtasivat kriisin miettiessään yrityksensä tulevaisuutta ja moni jatkaja puolestaan muutti elämäänsä radikaalisti siirtyessään perheyrityksen jatkajaksi. Työstä luopuminen osoittautui tutkimuksessa kriittisimmäksi tekijäksi, etenkin luopujien näkökulmasta katsottuna. Jatkajille se merkitsi oman jo mahdollisen muun uran ja työpaikan vaihtumista perheyritykseen. Luopujille se teoriassa tarkoitti eläkkeelle siirtymistä. Tutkituissa yrityksissä kukaan luopujista ei kuitenkaan ole lopettanut työn tekoa. He ovat jokapäiväinen näky yrityksessä ja enemmän tai vähemmän aktiivisesti mukana yrityksen toiminnoissa. Tämä aiheuttaa sukupolvien yhteentörmäystä ja konflikteja, tämä seikka vie paljon energiaa yrityksessä tehtävältä työltä. Työ on yrittäjälle erittäin vahva ja merkitsevä identiteetin perusta, jonka muuttaminen tai siitä luopuminen on vaikeaa.