Search results for "Mental Health and Psychiatry"
showing 10 items of 107 documents
Altered functional connectivity between emotional and cognitive resting state networks in euthymic bipolar I disorder patients.
2013
Bipolar disorder is characterized by a functional imbalance between hyperactive ventral/limbic areas and hypoactive dorsal/cognitive brain regions potentially contributing to affective and cognitive symptoms. Resting-state studies in bipolar disorder have identified abnormal functional connectivity between these brain regions. However, most of these studies used a seed-based approach, thus restricting the number of regions that were analyzed. Using data-driven approaches, researchers identified resting state networks whose spatial maps overlap with frontolimbic areas such as the default mode network, the frontoparietal networks, the salient network, and the meso/paralimbic network. These ne…
Population-based validation of a German version of the Brief Resilience Scale.
2017
Smith and colleagues developed the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) to assess the individual ability to recover from stress despite significant adversity. This study aimed to validate the German version of the BRS. We used data from a population-based (sample 1: n = 1.481) and a representative (sample 2: n = 1.128) sample of participants from the German general population (age ≥ 18) to assess reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted to compare one- and two-factorial models from previous studies with a method-factor model which especially accounts for the wording of the items. Reliability was analyzed. Convergent validity was measured by correlating BRS scores …
The Construct of Sexual Openness for Females in Steady Intimate Relationships
2017
The analysis of open-minded attitudes towards sexuality in general requires a construct based on attitudinal dimensions. Although several existing studies involve sexual attitudes, they differ substantially and standardized conceptual work is missing. Thus, the authors introduce the latent variable sexual openness to develop a construct based on self-oriented attitudes towards different sexual topics. Available survey data of female German students in a steady relationship allowed providing a first empirical test for the applicability of this construct. Five subdimensions are acknowledged central for sexual openness: sexual practices, masturbation, bisexuality, permissiveness, and pornograp…
Why do people spend money to help vulnerable people?
2019
Prosocial spending has been linked to positive benefits for individuals and societies. However, little is known about the precursors of prosocial spending directed to vulnerable people. We experimentally tested the effect of a first exposure to a prosocial donation decision on subsequent prosocial spending. We also examined the direct links from eudaimonic well-being beliefs (contribution-to-others and self-development) to prosocial spending, as well as the interaction between these beliefs and autonomy in predicting the money given. A total of 200 individuals participated in the study. Results showed that, compared to two control groups ("totally self-focused" and "no first-exposure"), an …
Altered Mitochondrial Function and Oxidative Stress in Leukocytes of Anorexia Nervosa Patients
2014
ContextAnorexia nervosa is a common illness among adolescents and is characterised by oxidative stress.ObjectiveThe effects of anorexia on mitochondrial function and redox state in leukocytes from anorexic subjects were evaluated.Design and settingA multi-centre, cross-sectional case-control study was performed.PatientsOur study population consisted of 20 anorexic patients and 20 age-matched controls, all of which were Caucasian women.Main outcome measuresAnthropometric and metabolic parameters were evaluated in the study population. To assess whether anorexia nervosa affects mitochondrial function and redox state in leukocytes of anorexic patients, we measured mitochondrial oxygen consumpt…
Association between passive tobacco exposure and caries in children and adolescents. A systematic review and meta-analysis.
2017
To examine the available evidence on the association between exposure to tobacco use in the womb and in infancy and the presence of caries in primary and permanent dentition in children and adolescents. A systematic review was conducted through searches in 4 data bases (Pubmed, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science), complemented by hand-searching. Of the 559 articles identified, 400 were duplicates. Finally, 28 articles were included in the qualitative review and 21 in the meta-analysis. Their quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The quality was medium in 44% of the articles included and high in 56%. The overall meta-analysis gave a significant odds ratio (OR = 1.53, 95% conf…
Childhood adversities and distress - The role of resilience in a representative sample.
2016
While adverse childhood experiences have been shown to contribute to adverse health outcomes in adulthood, specifically distress and somatic symptoms, few studies have examined their joint effects with resilient coping style on adult adjustment. Hence, we aim to determine the association between resilient coping and distress in participants with and without reported childhood adversities. A representative German community sample (N = 2508) between 14-92 years (1334 women; 1174 men) was examined by the short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Brief Resilience Coping Scale, standardized scales of distress and somatoform symptoms. Childhood adversity was associated with reduced ad…
Emotion regulation strategies modulate the effect of adverse childhood experiences on perceived chronic stress with implications for cognitive flexib…
2020
Exposure to early life adversity is associated with chronic stress and a range of stress-related health problems in adulthood. Since chronic stress debilitates activity in the prefrontal cortex (pFC), maladaptive regulatory strategies in response to stress have been proposed as one explanation for the impact of early life adversity on health outcomes in adulthood. We conducted a study to examine the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on cognitive flexibility, a key executive function implicated in activity in the pFC, in a sample of adults (N = 486). Additionally, we investigated whether perceptions of chronic stress in adulthood would mediate the influence of ACEs on cognitive …
Minimization of childhood maltreatment is common and consequential: results from a large, multinational sample using the childhood trauma questionnai…
2016
Childhood maltreatment has diverse, lifelong impact on morbidity and mortality. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is one of the most commonly used scales to assess and quantify these experiences and their impact. Curiously, despite very widespread use of the CTQ, scores on its Minimization-Denial (MD) subscale-originally designed to assess a positive response bias-are rarely reported. Hence, little is known about this measure. If response biases are either common or consequential, current practices of ignoring the MD scale deserve revision. Therewith, we designed a study to investigate 3 aspects of minimization, as defined by the CTQ's MD scale: 1) its prevalence; 2) its latent struc…
Disentangling the dynamics of social assistance: A linked survey—Register data cohort study of long-term social assistance recipients in Norway
2020
Social assistance is a means-tested benefit that is supposed to be a short-term, temporary economic support. Understanding why some individuals are in repeated or continuous need of social assistance is thus of obvious policy relevance, but the dynamics of social assistance receipt remain poorly understood. In 2005, a survey among long-term recipients of social assistance in Norway collected data on (a) childhood disadvantages, (b) health status, (c) health behaviors, (d) psychological resources, and (e) social ties, in addition to basic sociodemographic information. This rich survey data has been linked with tax register data from 2005–2013, enabling us to explore the detailed characterist…