bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interpersonal sensitivity predicts depressive symptom response to the circadian rhythm disruption of nightwork
Authors: Adeniran R. , Healy D. , Sharp H. , Williams J. M. G. , Minors D. , Waterhouse J. M. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThis paper reports the results of a study designed to explore the validity of a shiftwork model of affective disorders. Fifty-five student nurses doing nightwork for the first time were recruited to a study designed both to replicate an earlier study of the effects of nightwork on cognitive, emotional and neurovegetative measures and to assess the effects of nightwork on personality measures and the role of personality factors and nightwork induced disturbances in predicting accommodation to nightwork. As in the earlier study, concentration, interest, energy, sleep and appetite were significantly disturbed by nightwork and there was an increased perception of recent criticism from others. The findings from both studies were, therefore, aggregated to explore further possible relations between outcomes and the pre-nightwork level of affective symptoms and sensitivity to interpersonal criticism. These predicted poor response. In contrast, measures of cognitive style and symptom interpretation did not predict outcome. The findings are not inconsistent with proposals that disturbance of circadian rhythms consequent on psychosocial disruptions may play a part in the genesis of or maintenance of depression. They also support a proposal that nightwork induced changes may be a suitable human model for investigation of aspects of the affective disorders.
A longitudinal study of stressful life events assessed at interview with an epidemiological sample of adult twins: the basis of individual variation in event exposure
Authors: Foley D. L. , Neale M. C. , Kendler K. S. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThis study investigates the basis of individual variation in exposure to stressful life events (SLEs). A population based sample of 547 MZ and 390 DZ female–female twin pairs, aged between 17 and 55 years, were surveyed by two structured interviews, separated by at least 1 year, that enquired about SLEs experienced during the preceding 12 months. Data were analysed with a model that resolves occasion specific (‘random’) versus enduring (‘stable’) influences on SLEs. The latter is partitioned into that due to genetic, familial environmental and unique environmental factors. We demonstrate that both random factors and stable individual differences underlie variation in self-reported exposure to SLEs. For most network events this stable variance makes a relatively small contribution to the total variance in SLEs exposure and is almost entirely due to genetic or familial environmental effects. Stable individual differences are more important determinants of personal SLEs, and these reflect both familial factors as well as previous experiences unshared by relatives.
The Adult Personality Functioning Assessment (APFA): factors influencing agreement between subject and informant
Authors: Hill J. , Fudge H. , Harrington R. , Pickles A. , Rutter M. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThe Adult Personality Functioning Assessment (APFA) provides ratings of interpersonal and social role performance in six domains over substantial periods of time. Ratings based on subject and informant accounts using the APFA were compared. There was good agreement for estimates of levels of dysfunction, and moderate agreement for type of dysfunction. An anticipated under-reporting of difficulties by subjects was not found. The extent of personality dysfunction was predictive of whether a close informant was available; however, closeness of informant was not consistently associated with subject–informant agreement.
Effects of major depression on the cognitive function of younger and older subjects
Authors: Tarbuck A. F. , Paykel E. S. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThe effects of age and depression on cognitive function were investigated in two groups of in-patient major depressives aged under and over 60 years who were tested when depressed and after recovery. The majority of the tests showed impaired performance during depression with improvement after recovery, and also differences between the two age-groups in both the depressed and recovered phases. However, the older subjects were not more severely affected by depression than the younger subjects. The pattern of impairment associated with depression was different to that associated with older age: depression affected performance on more ‘complex tasks’, whereas age was associated particularly with slowing on timed tests. This study did not suggest that the impairment from baseline due to depression is greater in the elderly than in younger subjects.
Relationships between cardiovascular and immunological changes in an experimental stress model
Authors: Benschop R. J. , Godaert G. L. R. , Geenen R. , Brosschot J. F. , De Smet M. B. M. , Olff M. , Heijnen C. J. , Ballieux R. E. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisTo investigate the relationships between cardiovascular variables (SBP, DBP, and HR) and circulating natural killer (NK) cell numbers, 70 male volunteers were subjected to a rest condition (N= 30) or a stressful laboratory task (N= 40). At baseline, no significant relationships could be demonstrated between the number of NK cells and the cardiovascular variables. Analysis of covariance showed that the stressor induced increases in the number of NK cells, SBP, DBP, and HR. Changes in NK cell numbers were highly correlated to changes in cardiovascular variables in both the task and the no-task group. These results indicate that there is no relationship between the number of circulating NK cells and cardiovascular levelsper se, but that changes in these variables, either stress-induced or under rest conditions, are regulated by a common mechanism.
Explanations by professional care staff, optimism and helping behaviour: an application of attribution theory
Authors: Sharrock Robert , Day Andrew , Qazi Fara , Brewin Chris R. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisIt is demonstrated first that staff explanations of problem behaviour can be reliably coded using a modified form of the Attributional Style Questionnaire; and second, that staff explanations are related through staff optimism to anticipated helping behaviour. This supports the hypothesis that, in professional staff, an important determinant of helping is optimism arising from attributions of a patient's problems. The influence of affective judgements, as emphasized in Weiner's (1986) theory of helping behaviour, is not supported.
Measurement of neurotic symptoms by self-report questionnaire: validity of the SCL-90R
Authors: Peveler Robert C. , Fairburn Christopher G. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThe Symptom Check List (SCL-90R) is a self-report questionnaire which is designed to be suitable for use as a psychiatric case-finding instrument, as a measure of symptom severity, and as a descriptive measure of psychopathology. Scores obtained using the instrument were compared with those obtained from the investigator-based interview, the Present State Examination, in two samples of patients: a sample of patients with chronic physical disease (diabetes mellitus) and a sample of patients with bulimia nervosa. There was good agreement between the two methods of measurement in both samples, suggesting that the SCL-90R performs well in the assessment of neurotic symptoms.
Expressed emotion as a predictor of schizophrenic relapse: an analysis of aggregated data
Authors: Parker Gordon , Hadzi-Pavlovic Dusan 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisWe examine published data from 12 studies assessing the capacity of Expressed Emotion (EE) status to predict schizophrenic relapse. Analysis of aggregated data, for 908 subjects, established a 3–7 times greater likelihood of relapse in those categorized as high EE, and a somewhat waning predictive strength EE over the publication interval, 1962–88.
Amnesic syndrome in schizophrenia
Authors: McKenna P. J. , Tamlyn D. , Lund C. E. , Mortimer A. M. , Hammond S. , Baddeley A. D. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisMemory impairment is not usually considered to form part of the clinical picture of schizophrenia, except perhaps in severely deteriorated patients. In a survey of 60 patients encompassing all grades of severity and chronicity poor memory performance was found to be common, sometimes substantial, and disproportionately pronounced compared to the degree of general intellectual impairment. Although associated with severity and chronicity of illness, impaired memory was by no means confined to old, institutionalized, or markedly deteriorated patients. The pattern of deficit appeared to resemble that of the classic amnesic syndrome rather than that seen in Alzheimer-type dementia.
Use of the ICD-10 version of the Standardized Assessment of Personality to determine the prevalence of personality disorder in psychiatric in-patients
Authors: Pilgrim John , Mann Anthony 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThe Standardized Assessment of Personality (SAP) involves a short semi-structured interview with an informant. It was modified to accord with the 1987 draft of the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and used to assess the pre-morbid personality of first-admission patients in one London area over the period of one year. Of the 120 (84% of the total sample of first-admissions) patients included, 43 (36%) were found to satisfy the ICD-10 criteria for personality disorder and a further 17 (14%) to satisfy the criteria for personality trait accentuation.
Impaired cognitive functioning during spontaneous dieting
Authors: Green Michael W. , Rogers Peter J. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISIn one of a continuing series of studies, the cognitive performance of normal weight female dieters was compared on two sessions, 3 weeks apart. Those who reported themselves as being on a weight-reducing diet on only one of the two sessions displayed poorer vigilance performance, slower reaction times and poorer immediate recall of words when they were dieting. In contrast, performance on a low processing load tapping task was unaffected. Self-report measures showed that dietary restraint, but not state anxiety or depression was increased during dieting. These results are interpreted in terms of an association between dieting behaviour and high levels of distractibility, and extend earlier findings by demonstrating that these deficits in cognitive performance are closely related to dieting or the perceived need to diet per se.
Doctor-dependent changes in complaint-related cognitions and anxiety during medical consultations in functional abdominal complaints
Authors: Van Dulmen A. M. , Fennis J. F. M. , Mokkink H. G. A. , Van Der Velden H. G. M. , Bleijenberg G. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThis study explored the changes in complaint-related cognitions and anxiety of 110 consecutive out-patients with functional abdominal complaints (irritable bowel syndrome), during a series of consultations. Patients' anxiety, fear of cancer, somatic attribution concerning intestines or stomach and catastrophizing cognitions appeared to diminish significantly during the consulting period. Positive changes in patients' psychological attribution and somatic attribution appeared to be related to doctors' correct perceptions of these attributions. Catastrophizing cognitions diminished significantly more when patients saw the same doctor throughout the consultations. As changes in attributions and catastrophizing cognitions appeared to be related to doctor–patient interaction, it is conceivable that doctors could learn to influence cognitions even more.
Gender and depression in Anglo-Jewry
Authors: Loewenthal K. , Goldblatt V. , Gorton T. , Lubitsch G. , Bicknell H. , Fellowes D. , Sowden A. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISThis study found similar prevalence of case depression among men as among women in a sample of 339 Jews affiliated to orthodox synagogues (157 men and 182 women). There were significant gender differences in several social–situational factors and symptoms, mostly in the direction that would suggest that case depression would be higher among women than among men. That this was not so is suggested to be the result of the culturalmilieu: social factors that have been found to be associated with depression in other groups of people did not function as risk or vulnerability factors among the Jews studied. In particular, the evidence indicates the importance of specific cultural–religious values in contributing towards the prevalences that were observed. These values included the esteem attached to women's central role in family management and the low use of alcohol and suicide as escape routes from depression.
Parasuicide in the first postnatal year
Authors: Appleby Louis , Turnbull Gill 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISData were collected on a consecutive 6 month sample of women aged 15–44 years attending their catchment area Casualty Department because of parasuicide. Information included age and childbirth within the previous year. Using this information and catchment area data on population size and births, an odds ratio for parasuicide in postnatal as compared to nonpostnatal women was calculated. Five of 131 study subjects had delivered a baby in the previous 12 months. The odds ratio was calculated to be 0·43 (95% confidence interval 0·17–0·95). These findings suggest that the rate of parasuicide in the first postnatal year is low despite the high rate of psychiatric morbidity at this time. The result supports previous findings on suicide and suggests that postnatal women, despite their high rates of psychiatric disorder, are protected against fatal and non-fatal self harm. The implications for postnatal and suicide prevention services are discussed.
Laterality of visuo-spatial attention in acute and chronic schizophrenia, major depression and in healthy controls
Authors: O'Carroll R. E. , Rogers A. , Lawrie S. M. , Murray C. , Van Beck M. , Ebmeier K. P. , Walker M. , Blackwood D. , Johnstone E. C. , Goodwin G. M. 
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSISPrevious studies have suggested that schizophrenia is characterized by an asymmetry of visuo-spatial attention, in particular that acute unmedicated schizophrenics demonstrate relative inattention to right hemispace, whereas chronically medicated patients demonstrate the opposite pattern. In the present study, 30 unmedicated schizophrenic patients, 32 chronically medicated schizophrenic patients, 30 patients suffering from major depression and 60 healthy controls were assessed using two measures of hemispatial attentional neglect, namely letter and star cancellation. The results demonstrated that the chronic schizophrenic group made more total omissions for star cancellation (in both right and left hemispace), but that there was no difference between the groups in terms of omission asymmetry for either letter or star cancellation.
Facial and other non-verbal communicative behaviour in chronic schizophrenia
Authors: Davison P. S. , Frith C. D. , Harrison-Read P. E. , Johnstone E. C. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisFacial behaviour may be an important determinant in clinical ratings of psychopathology. A standardized objective technique was used to quantify measures of facial behaviour in 21 chronic schizophrenic subjects, in comparison with control groups of depressed, demented and Parkinsonian subjects. Facial behaviours were counted and timed from video-recordings of each subjects' face during a clinical interview. Separate measurement of behaviours were obtained while subjects were speaking and silent. For most variables, the amount of facial behaviour was significantly less in schizophrenic subjects than in control groups. The groups differed significantly on a number of measures, but schizophrenics could not be reliably identified by a single facial behaviour variable. However, using a discriminant function analysis with measures for eye contact while speaking and silent, broad smiles and small smiles, discrimination between groups was good, with over 80% correctly classified as either schizophrenic, or not schizophrenic. These techniques may increase our understanding of psychopathological signs and the mechanisms that underly them.
Normal ageing, impaired cognitive functioning and senile dementia – a mixture distribution analysis
Authors: Reischies F. M. , Schaub R. T. , Schlattmann P. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisDementia scores in the population of very old subjects (70 to > 95) do not demonstrate an obviously bimodal distribution. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the assumption of two distributions explains the data significantly better than a one-distribution model. The first distribution component can be regarded as representing the normal range of scores and the second the pathological range. An additional finding shows the normal range distribution shifting to the pathological range with increasing age.
The classification of bulimic eating disorders: a community-based cluster analysis study
Authors: Hay P. J. , Fairburn C. G. , Doll H. A. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThere is controversy over how best to classify eating disorders in which there is recurrent binge eating. Many patients with recurrent binge eating do not meet diagnostic criteria for either of the two established eating disorders, anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. The present study was designed to derive an empirically based, and clinically meaningful, diagnostic scheme by identifying subgroups from among those with recurrent binge eating, testing the validity of these subgroups and comparing their predictive validity with that of the DSM-IV scheme.A general population sample of 250 young women with recurrent binge eating was recruited using a two-stage design. Four subgroups among the sample were identified using a Ward's cluster analysis. The first subgroup had either objective or subjective bulimic episodes and vomiting or laxative misuse; the second had objective bulimic episodes and low levels of vomiting or laxative misuse; the third had subjective bulimic episodes and low levels of vomiting or laxative misuse; and the fourth was heterogeneous in character. This cluster solution was robust to replication. It had good descriptive and predictive validity and partial construct validity.The results support the concept of bulimia nervosa and its division into purging and non-purging subtypes. They also suggest a possible new binge eating syndrome. Binge eating disorder, listed as an example of Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified within DSM-IV, did not emerge from the cluster analysis.
Screening for psychiatric disorders in an area affected by the Chernobyl disaster: the reliability and validity of three psychiatric screening questionnaires in Belarus
Authors: Havenaar J. M. , Poelijoe N. W. , Kasyanenko A. P. , Van Den Bout J. , Koeter M. W. J. , Filipenko V. V. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThe reliability and criterion validity of Russian versions of three psychiatric screening questionnaires (the General Health Questionnaire, 12-item version; the Goldberg scales for anxiety and depression; and, the Bradford Somatic Inventory) were assessed in the Gomel region (Belarus), one of the most severely contaminated areas that resulted from the nuclear power plant explosion at Chernobyl in 1986. All instruments were found to have good internal reliability indices. Retest reliability of the GHQ, not tested for in the other instruments, was modest. Criterion validity, using a semi-structured interview on the basis of the Munich Diagnostic Checklist for DSM-III-R as external criterion, was good for the Goldberg scales, but modest for the two other instruments.
Eye-tracking dysfunction in the affective psychoses and schizophrenia
Authors: Muir Walter J. , St Clair David M. , Blackwood Douglas H. R. , Roxburgh Hilary M. , Marshall Ian 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisSmooth pursuit eye movements to a sinusoidally moving target were recorded using the electro-oculogram in 49 subjects with bipolar disorder, 19 with major depressive disorder and 61 with definite schizophrenia, and compared with 145 normal controls. The signals were analysed in the frequency domain to yield a signal to noise ratio that is known to relate to accuracy of smooth pursuit. Smooth pursuit was found to be significantly poorer in schizophrenics than in bipolars, major depressed or controls. Eye-tracking performance was independent of the effects of neuroleptics, tricyclic antidepressants or lithium, and was not altered by the severity of depression in the affective psychoses. There was a small, but significant worsening of smooth pursuit with age in controls and schizophrenics, but this did not account for the group differences. The results support the view that among the major psychoses eye-tracking dysfunction is specific to schizophrenia.
Psychiatric morbidity in bus crews following violent assault: a follow-up study
Authors: Fisher Nigel , Jacoby Robin 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisIn a prospective study 22 bus crews who were victims of physical assault were assessed using standardized psychiatric instruments, followed up for 18 months and compared to a non-assaulted control group drawn from the same bus garage. At initial assessment the assaulted group, compared to the controls showed a significant increase in psychiatric impairment and distress (as measured by the GHQ-30 and IES respectively), with 23% of assault victims developing post-traumatic stress disorder as defined by DSM-III-R. At follow-up, while high levels of both psychiatric impairment and distress persisted there was evidence that they may be separate phenomena.
The general population prevalence of non-organic psychiatric disorders in subjects aged 85 years and over
Authors: Heeren Thea J. , Van Hemert Albert M. , Lagaay Anne M. , Rooymans Harry G. M. 
Published: July 2009

SynopsisThe prevalence of psychiatric disorders was investigated in all inhabitants over 85 years of age (N = 1259), residing in Leiden, The Netherlands. The study design consisted of two phases. In the first phase the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were used to screen for potential cases; in the second phase all potential cases and a sample of the non-cases were interviewed with the Geriatric Mental State Schedule (GMS). DSM-III diagnoses were made based on the GMS and on information obtained from caregivers. There was a high prevalence of organic disorders of 31% (95% CI: 27–35%). The estimated overall prevalence rate for functional disorders was 8% (95% CI: 4–12%). This is an underestimate because organic and functional disorders are mutually exclusive in DSM-III. The prevalence rate estimated for the population at risk for functional disorders (i.e. the total population minus the organic cases) was 12% (95% CI: 6–18%). This is very similar to prevalence rates for functional disorders found in population based surveys in younger age groups. Therefore, in contrast with the dementias, there appears to be no increase with age for the functional disorders.