http://www.hindawi.com The latest articles from Hindawi Publishing Corporation © 2013 , Hindawi Publishing Corporation . All rights reserved. Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:05:35 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/691050/ This study explores types of alcohol and surrogates consumed, patterns of consumption, and reasons behind noncommercial alcohol consumption among alcohol-dependent patients in Belarus. The study was conducted in the Belarusian city Grodno in 2012 with 223 alcoholics admitted to narcological clinic using structured interviews. The results suggest that at least 20.2% of alcohol dependent patients regularly consume samogon and 11.8% of patients use surrogates, the most popular among which are medications with a high percentage of ethanol and industrial spirits. The belief that, according to quality criteria, samogon exceeds licensed vodka is the main motive for its consumption. The results of this study suggest the existence of the problem of consumption of noncommercial alcohol among alcohol dependent patients in Belarus. Y. E. Razvodovsky Copyright © 2013 Y. E. Razvodovsky. All rights reserved. Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:03:57 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/580175/ Different studies reveal that a large percentage of people frequently attending healthcare not only suffer from diffuse somatic symptoms but also from psychological distress and difficulties in dealing with everyday life. Even though they are not always diagnosed with psychiatric disease, questions arise about their mental health. The study aims at describing frequent attenders’ conceptions of life, and as a result their health, from a cognitive perspective. A qualitative content analysis of in-depth interviews was carried out with nine service users in primary healthcare. The findings reveal that participants experience themselves as inadequate and as being a burden for others, by whom they experience rejection, in different ways. In order to take part in community with others the person develops compensatory strategies that aim at concealing their inadequacies, thus also preventing them from sharing their suffering with others. The consequence is that the persons become even more alienated as they start to relate to others through a façade and furthermore are unable to either improve their health or obtain adequate care. It can be concluded that these patients need to be taken seriously in order to prevent further psychological suffering. Lena Wiklund-Gustin Copyright © 2013 Lena Wiklund-Gustin. All rights reserved. Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:08:31 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/548349/ Objective. To describe the prevalence of patients who screen positive for bipolar disorder (BD) symptoms in primary care comparing two screening instruments: Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ) and Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32). Participants. Adult patients presenting to their primary care practitioners for any cause and reporting current depression symptoms or a depressive episode in the last 6 months. Methods. Subjects completed MDQ and HCL-32, and clinical diagnosis was assessed by a psychiatrist following DSM-IV criteria. Depressive symptoms were evaluated in a subgroup with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Results. A total of 94 patients were approached to participate and 93 completed the survey. Among these, 8.9% screened positive with MDQ and 43.0% with HCL-32. MDQ positive had more likely features associated with BD: panic disorder and smoking habit (). The best test accuracy was performed by cut-off 5 for MDQ (sensitivity = .91; specificity = .67) and 15 for HCL-32 (sensitivity = .64; specificity = .57). Higher total score of PHQ-9 was related to higher total scores at the screening tests (). Conclusion. There is a significant prevalence of bipolar symptoms in primary care depressed patients. MDQ seems to have better accuracy and feasibility than HCL-32, features that fit well in the busy setting of primary care. Anna Sasdelli, Loredana Lia, C. Claudia Luciano, Claudia Nespeca, Domenico Berardi, and Marco Menchetti Copyright © 2013 Anna Sasdelli et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:57:29 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/464685/ Introduction. For many people, the online environment has become a significant arena for everyday living, and researchers are beginning to explore the multifaceted nature of human interaction with the Internet. The burgeoning global popularity and distinct design features of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have received particular attention, and discourses about the phenomenon suggest both positive and negative impact upon gamer health. Aim. The purpose of this paper was to critically appraise the research literature to determine if playing MMORPGs impacts upon the psychosocial well-being of adolescents and young adults. Method. Initial searches were conducted on nine databases spanning the years 2002 to 2012 using key words, such as online gaming, internet gaming, psychosocial, and well-being, which, in addition to hand searching, identified six studies meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. Results. All six studies strongly associated MMORPG playing with helpful and harmful impact to the psychosocial well-being of the populations under study; however due to the methodologies employed, only tentative conclusions may be drawn. Conclusion. Since both helpful and harmful effects were reported, further multidisciplinary research is recommended to specifically explore the clinical implications and therapeutic potentialities of this modern, growing phenomenon. Jonathan Scott and Alison P. Porter-Armstrong Copyright © 2013 Jonathan Scott and Alison P. Porter-Armstrong. All rights reserved. Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:25:51 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/471657/ Background. The study's primary purpose was to investigate whether an autonomy supportive motivational climate in a running program would increase future running intent among high school students. A secondary purpose was to examine whether the program would increase individual performance in the Cooper 12-minute run. Methods. Students participated in a 4-month running intervention program which included four timed runs, one per month, and a future intent questionnaire prior to the start of the timed runs and following the last run. Results. Factorial repeated measures ANOVA revealed significance regarding future intent () at both schools. Factorial repeated measures ANOVA indicated differences between the runs at both schools (). Paired samples -tests were conducted to look at significance with paired runs. Results revealed significance in two of the six pairs at the treatment school, notably between the first and last timed runs (). Only one pair was found to be significant () with the control school. Conclusion. At both schools, the overall number of laps increased as well as future intent to run scores. The results do not support evidence of a greater effect from the autonomy supportive environment over a traditional environment. Andrea Silva, James C. Hannon, Barry Shultz, and Leslie Podlog Copyright © 2013 Andrea Silva et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:17:02 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/301460/ This study explored the relationship between video gaming and age during childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. It also examined whether “role incompatibility,” the theory that normative levels of substance use decrease through young adulthood as newly acquired adult roles create competing demands, generalizes to video gaming. Emerging adult video gamers () recruited from video gaming contexts in New York City completed a computer-assisted personal interview and life-history calendar. All four video gaming indicators—days/week played, school/work day play, nonschool/work day play, and problem play—had significant curvilinear relationships with age. The “shape” of video gaming’s relationship with age is, therefore, similar to that of substance use, but video gaming appears to peak earlier in life than substance use, that is, in late adolescence rather than emerging adulthood. Of the four video gaming indicators, role incompatibility only significantly affected school/work day play, the dimension with the clearest potential to interfere with life obligations. Geoffrey L. Ream, Luther C. Elliott, and Eloise Dunlap Copyright © 2013 Geoffrey L. Ream et al. All rights reserved. Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:23:17 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/685625/ Objectives. Readmission has a major role in the reduction of the quality of life and the increase in the years of lost life. The main objectives of this study were to answer to the following research questions. (a) What was the readmission rate? (b) What were the social, demographic, and clinical characteristics of patients admitted to the Psychiatric Emergency Service at Nour University Hospital, affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran? (c) What were the effective factors on readmission? Method. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a total number of 3935 patients who were admitted to Isfahan University Hospital Psychiatric Ward in Isfahan, Iran, from 2004 to 2010. Gender, age, marital status, education, self-report history of previous admission, type of psychiatric disorder, substance misuse, suicide, and the length of the current psychiatric disorder were collected from the registered medical files of patients. The data were analysed using the negative binomial regression model. Results. We found that factors such as psychiatric anxiety disorder, bipolar I, bipolar II, psychotic disorder, depression, and self report history of previous admission were statistically significant in the number of readmissions using the negative binomial model. Conclusion. Readmission to the psychiatric ward is mainly predictable by the type of diagnosis and psychosocial supports. Majid Barekatain, Mohammad Reza Maracy, Razeyeh Hassannejad, and Reihane Hosseini Copyright © 2013 Majid Barekatain et al. All rights reserved. Sun, 17 Mar 2013 13:24:18 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/979623/ Few studies have examined the risk factors of serious psychological distress (SPD) and behavioral factors for heart disease separately stratified as young (18–44 years), middle aged (45–64 years), and elderly (65 years or older). A total of 3,540 adults with heart disease and 37,703 controls were selected from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey. Data were weighted to be representative and adjusted for potential undercoverage and nonresponse biases. Multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations of the factors with heart disease at different ages. The prevalence of SPD was 8% in cases and 4% in controls, respectively. For young adults, SPD and higher federal poverty level (FPL) were associated with an increased risk of heart disease while for middle-aged adults, SPD, past smoking, lack of physical activity, obesity, male, and unemployment were associated with an increased risk of heart disease. In addition, SPD, past smoking, lack of physical activity, obesity, male, unemployment, White, and lower FPL were associated with an increased risk of heart disease in elderly. Our findings indicate that risk factors for heart disease vary across all ages. Intervention strategies that target risk reduction of heart disease may be tailored accordingly. Liang Wang and Ke-Sheng Wang Copyright © 2013 Liang Wang and Ke-Sheng Wang. All rights reserved. Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:03:55 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/198746/ Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) is a common comorbidity in children with Tourette syndrome (TS). However, motor restlessness and high levels of sensorimotor activation or “overactivity” may be a feature of TS rather than a distinct ADHD comorbidity. The link between overactivity and ADHD in TS has yet to be established and in particular between adult and preadolescent manifestations. The current study furthers this understanding of ADHD features in TS by investigating the relationship between cognitive and behavioral aspects of ADHD and TS. The style of planning (STOP) overactivity scale was compared in preadolescent () and adult () samples. The STOP overactivity scale measures the characteristic overactive style of planning in everyday life. The aims of the study were twofold as follows: (1) to see if an overactive style was present in adolescents as well as in adults, and (2) to see if this overactive style correlated with hyperactivity, impulsivity, or perfectionism. Results suggest that overactivity may be a better description of the hyperactivity manifestations in TS. Behavioral components of overactivity were present in preadolescents while the cognitive components were more frequent in adults. Overactivity relates at the same time to perfectionism and impulsivity. Anick Laverdure, Kieron O'Connor, and Marc E. Lavoie Copyright © 2013 Anick Laverdure et al. All rights reserved. Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:32:49 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/319429/ Items measuring attitudes toward the mentally ill can be limited in relevance to a particular period or place. The main objective of the study was to provide evidence toward a questionnaire that was short and psychometrically stable over time and geography, and that could be used within comprehensive mental health surveys of general populations. Four rural samples, Lofoten 1983 (), 1990 (), 2000 (), and Valdres 2010 (), and two urban samples, Oslo 1990 () and 2000 (), were used to test this. The questionnaire was self-administered with fixed questions and response alternatives. Using the three Lofoten and the two Oslo samples, the stability of the factor analytic structure of 19 attitude items was established. In all analyses, there was a clear leveling off after three factors. The 13 highest loading items on these three factors were used in a new rural region, Valdres, in 2010. The three established factors/dimensions, named Distance, Demands, and Positive, seemed to be reasonably stable within a variety of Norwegian samples. On the other hand, the analyses were different enough to recommend researchers and politicians to be careful when comparing absolute levels of the suggested indexes across different locations and at different points in time. Tom Sørensen and Andreas Sørensen Copyright © 2013 Tom Sørensen and Andreas Sørensen. All rights reserved. Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:51:28 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/701872/ Background. Work-related stress is a major problem for mental health. The occupational physician has the opportunity to gather information on the perception of stress from workers in the course of regular medical examinations. Method. 1,231 subjects, engaged in 6 different occupations, were invited to compile the Demand/Control/Support and the Effort/Reward/Imbalance questionnaires. Results. A specific profile of work-related stress emerged for each group of workers. Radiology physicians reported high control over work, but also exceedingly high demand and effort, high overcommitment, low social support, and low rewards from work. Health care workers were often overcommitted but had high levels of reward and social support. Low levels of social support and reward were recorded for mature workers, while special force policemen engaged in law enforcement during the G8 meeting had high levels of social support and regards, so that their resulting stress levels were closer to the reference group of employees in an insurance company with no front-office. Conclusion. The practice of administering questionnaires to groups of workers who are subject to medical surveillance is useful for monitoring mental health and well-being. Nicola Magnavita and Sergio Garbarino Copyright © 2013 Nicola Magnavita and Sergio Garbarino. All rights reserved. Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:45:59 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/154867/ Background. There is evidence that patients with schizophrenia suffer from decline in working memory performance with consequences for psychosocial outcome. Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of a computerized working memory training program (BrainStim) in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Methods. Twenty-nine inpatients with chronic schizophrenia were assigned to either the intervention group receiving working memory training () or the control group without intervention (). Training was performed four times a week for 45 minutes during four weeks under neuropsychological supervision. At baseline and followup all participants underwent neuropsychological testing. Results. Pre-post comparisons of neuropsychological measures showed improvements in visual and verbal working memories and visual short-term memory with small and large effect sizes in the intervention group. In contrast, the control group showed decreased performance in verbal working memory and only slight changes in visual working memory and visual and verbal short-term memories after 4 weeks. Analyses of training profiles during application of BrainStim revealed increased performance over the 4-week training period. Conclusions. The applied training tool BrainStim improved working memory and short-term memory in patients with chronic schizophrenia. The present study implies that chronic schizophrenic patients can benefit from computerized cognitive remediation training of working memory in a clinical setting. Martina Hubacher, Marcus Weiland, Pasquale Calabrese, Gabriela Stoppe, Markus Stöcklin, David Fischer-Barnicol, Klaus Opwis, and Iris-Katharina Penner Copyright © 2013 Martina Hubacher et al. All rights reserved. Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:32:23 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/250215/ In Europe use of alcohol by adolescents is a large and increasing problem. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of family factors such as structure, social control, affluence, and negative life events on adolescents' risky alcohol use. Data on alcohol use and family factors were obtained from the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2). Using multilevel analysis, it was found that overall, complete family and high social control by parents were lowering the intense alcohol use whereas negative life events in the family and high family affluence were increasing youngsters' intense alcohol use. Differences between regions of Europe were present for all family factors except affluence. Namely, in Northern Europe the impact of family structure and social control on intense alcohol use was stronger than that in other regions (e.g., Western Europe, Mediterranean, and Postsocialist countries). Also, in Northern Europe where the proportion of adolescents who have not experienced negative life events is the highest, the impact of negative life events on intense alcohol use was stronger; that is, negative life events increased the alcohol use. We conclude that family plays a significant role in adolescents' risky alcohol use. Kristjan Kask, Anna Markina, and Zuzana Podana Copyright © 2013 Kristjan Kask et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:05:39 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/654847/ The present study investigated the association between nonsuicidal self-injury characteristics, functions, and the UPPS-P impulsivity-related traits in high-school students using self-report questionnaires. More than 17% of the 613 students engaged in at least one type of NSSI behavior. Compared to male students, female students engaged more often in cutting and less in head banging. All NSSI behaviors were significantly related to Negative and Positive Urgency, that is, the tendency to act impulsive in the presence of negative/positive affect. Interactions between different UPPS-P impulsivity dimensions did not increase the percentage of explained variance in the different NSSI behaviors. Furthermore, severe cutting was negatively related to Lack of Premeditation. Different NSSI functions showed differential relationships with the five UPPS-P impulsivity dimensions. Laurence Claes and Jennifer Muehlenkamp Copyright © 2013 Laurence Claes and Jennifer Muehlenkamp. All rights reserved. Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:55:15 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/897084/ The aim of the study was to describe Swedish psychiatrists’ experiences of involving the family in the treatment of women with postpartum psychosis. A qualitative design was used, and semistructured qualitative research interviews were conducted with nine psychiatrists from the south of Sweden. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Four categories were found: the family as a resource, the family as coworkers, preparing the family for the future, and the family as a burden. The result showed that the psychiatrists considered the family to be a resource to which they devoted a great deal of care and effort. It was particularly important to involve the partner, informing about the course of the illness and the steps that need to be taken in the event of a relapse and reducing any guilt feelings. The psychiatrists instilled confidence and hope for a future of health and further child bearing. The family members’ limited understanding of the treatment may impede the involvement of the family. Conclusion of the study was that the goal for family involvement was to facilitate the women’s care and treatment. Further studies are needed to provide suggestions on how to develop family involvement in the care of women suffering from postpartum psychosis. I. Engqvist and K. Nilsson Copyright © 2013 I. Engqvist and K. Nilsson. All rights reserved. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 11:37:51 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/852930/ Genes in the Wnt (wingless)/β-catenin signaling pathway have been implicated in schizophrenia pathogenesis. No study has examined this pathway in the broader context of psychosis symptom severity. We investigated the association between symptom severity scores and expression of 25 Wnt pathway genes in blood from 19 psychotic patients. Significant correlations between negative symptom scores and deshivelled 2 (DVL2) (; ) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3B) (; ) were observed. No gene expression levels were associated with positive symptoms. Our findings suggest that the Wnt signaling pathway may harbor biomarkers for severity of negative but not positive symptoms. Chad A. Bousman, Stephen J. Glatt, Sharon D. Chandler, James Lohr, William S. Kremen, Ming T. Tsuang, and Ian P. Everall Copyright © 2013 Chad A. Bousman et al. All rights reserved. Wed, 26 Dec 2012 14:19:13 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/382126/ Introduction. Very few studies have examined the neuropsychological performance of HIV-positive women, and even fewer have attempted a comparison of cognitive functioning by gender. The aim of this study was to describe the nature of the neuropsychological performance of HIV seropositive patients by gender. Methods. A clinical sample made up of 151 subjects was recruited to participate in this study. All of the subjects underwent the same assessment process, consisting of a neuropsychological evaluation and an interview to gather sociodemographic, toxicological, and clinical data. Results and Discussion. Despite the fact that men obtained higher scores in visual memory, attention/psychomotor speed, and abstract reasoning/verbal intelligence, these differences were not statistically significant. In contrast, significant differences were found depending on subjects’ serological status. Seropositive participants’ neuropsychological performance was significantly lower than that of the seronegative participants in all of the areas assessed as follows: (1) visual memory; (2) attention/psychomotor speed; (3) abstract reasoning/verbal intelligence; (4) verbal memory for texts; (5) verbal memory for digits and words. Conclusions. The results from this study reveal no significant gender differences in the cognitive performance of patients infected with HIV-1. José María Faílde Garrido, María Lameiras Fernández, Marika Foltz, Yolanda Rodríguez Castro, and María Victoria Carrera Fernández Copyright © 2013 José María Faílde Garrido et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 25 Dec 2012 17:21:08 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/274121/ Wildfire disasters are potentially traumatic events which directly and indirectly affect both citizens and first responders. The study of posttraumatic growth is scarcely found in the context of firefighters and only few studies have addressed this construct. In the current study, posttraumatic symptoms and posttraumatic growth were investigated among Israeli firefighters (), approximately one month after the Carmel Fire Disaster. Eight firefighters (12.3%) were found to be above the cut-off score for probable PTSD, with intrusion symptoms as the most frequent finding compared to avoidance and hyper-arousal symptoms. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) was evident to a small but considerable degree; noticeable changes were found regarding personal strength and appreciation of life. Results also revealed significant linear and quadratic relationships between PTSD and PTG. Results are discussed in light of past research on psychological responses among firefighters and first responders. Dmitry Leykin, Mooli Lahad, and Nira Bonneh Copyright © 2013 Dmitry Leykin et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:25:32 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/849346/ Depression has been shown to be associated with cognitive deficits in various cognitive domains. However, it is still unclear which factors contribute to cognitive impairment. The objective of this study was to find out whether a functional polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) gene is associated with the impairment of cognitive functioning among depressed patients. In a pilot study, a sample of 19 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 19 healthy controls was investigated with an extensive psychiatric and neuropsychological examination. All participants were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR. Depressed patients with the short allele of the 5-HTT promoter region exhibited inferior cognitive performance compared to patients with the long allele polymorphism. In healthy controls, no association between genotype and cognitive performance was found. The result suggests that in MDD patients with the short allele of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism the vulnerability to cognitive impairment is increased compared to MDD patients without the short allele inheritance. These preliminary findings need to be confirmed in a larger cohort of MDD patients. Hely Kalska, Ullamari Pesonen, Sanna Lehikoinen, Jan-Henry Stenberg, Jari Lipsanen, Jussi Niemi-Pynttäri, and Arja Tuunainen Copyright © 2013 Hely Kalska et al. All rights reserved. Tue, 18 Dec 2012 07:58:38 +0000 http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyj/2013/319874/ Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are characterized by symptoms that hinder successful positive interaction with peers. The main goal of this study was to examine if the presence of symptoms of ODD and ADHD affects the relationship between positive social behavior and peer status found in 7–9-year-old children who show symptoms typical of ADHD and/or ODD. Furthermore, the possible interaction with sex was investigated. We used data collected in the first wave of The Bergen Child Study of mental health (BCS), a prospective longitudinal total population study of children’s developmental and mental health. The target population consisted of children in the second to the fourth, in all public, private, and special schools in Bergen, Norway, in the fall of 2002 (). All 79 primary schools in Bergen participated in the study. Both teacher (8809 complete cases) and parent (6253 complete cases) report were used in the analyses. ADHD and ODD scores were estimated using the Swanson Noland and Pelham rating scale version IV (SNAP-IV), and peer problems and prosocial behavior were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). We replicated the relationship between peer problems and prosocial behavior found previously in typically developing children. Our results showed that the relationship between peer problems and prosocial behavior became weaker as the ODD symptoms increased in number and severity. For ADHD this effect was only found in the teacher report of the children. A sex effect for ODD symptoms was found only using the parent report: boys with ODD symptoms showed less prosocial behavior than girls with similar levels of ODD symptoms. Since this effect was not found using the teacher data, it may imply a situational effect (school/home) for girls with high levels of ODD. The moderator effect of ODD/ADHD was comparable for boys and girls. Our findings suggest that even if children with ADHD/ODD symptoms have the opportunity to practice their social skills in peer relationships, this is not necessarily accompanied by an increase in prosocial behavior. Muirne C. S. Paap, Ira R. Haraldsen, Kyrre Breivik, Phillipa R. Butcher, Frøydis M. Hellem, and Kjell M. Stormark Copyright © 2013 Muirne C. S. Paap et al. All rights reserved.