Research has indicated that patients’ in-session experience of previously avoided affects may be important for effective psychotherapy. The aim of this study was to investigate patients’ in-session levels of affect experiencing in relation to their corresponding levels of insight, motivation, and inhibitory affects in initial Experiential Dynamic Therapy (EDT) sessions. Four hundred sixty-six 10-min video segments from 31 initial sessions were rated using the Achievement of Therapeutic Objectives Scale. A series of multilevel growth models, controlling for between-therapist variability, were estimated to predict patients’ adaptive affect experiencing (Activating Affects) across session segments. In line with our expectations, higher within-person levels of Insight and Motivation related to higher levels of Activating Affects per segment. Contrary to expectations, however, lower levels of Inhibition were not associated with higher levels of Activating Affects. Further, using a time-lagged model, we did not find that the levels of Insight, Motivation, or Inhibition during one session segment predicted Activating Affects in the next, possibly indicating that 10-min segments may be suboptimal for testing temporal relationships in affective processes. Our results suggest that, to intensify patients’ immediate affect experiencing in initial EDT sessions, therapists should focus on increasing insight into defensive patterns and, in particular, motivation to give them up. Future research should examine the impact of specific inhibitory affects more closely, as well as between-therapist variability in patients’ in-session adaptive affect experiencing.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is a neural correlate of the preattentive detection of any change in the acoustic characteristics of sounds. Here we provide evidence that violations of a purely phonological constraint in a listener's native language can also elicit the brain's automatic change-detection response. The MMN differed between Finnish and Estonian listeners, conditions being equal except for the native language of the listeners. We used two experimental conditions: synthetic vowels in isolation and the same vowels embedded in a pseudo-word context. MMN responses to isolated vowels were similar for Finns and Estonians, while the same vowels in a pseudoword context elicited different MMN patterns depending on the listener's mother tongue.

Children with language impairment (LI) and children with typical development (TD) were assessed by their respective parents using The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (Swedish version SECDI) and Greenspan Socio Emotional Growth Chart (GSEGC). The aim was to investigate socio-emotional and language development in children with LI and TD with respect to possible differential patterns and relations between the groups. The results highlight a clear association between language and socio-emotional development. Children with LI were rated similar to young language-matched children with TD, but significantly lower relative to age-matched TD children, particularly concerning symbolic stages of development: the use of linguistic symbols as well as related areas such as symbol play and symbolic mental ability. The results are discussed in light of presumable background factors and possible consequences for children or sub-groups of children with LI.

There is limited knowledge of cognitive outcome extending beyond 5 years after childhood traumatic brain injury, CTBI. The main objectives of this thesis were to investigate cognitive outcome at 6-14 years after CTBI, and to evaluate if advancements in the neurosurgical care, starting 1992, did influence long-term outcome and early epidemiology. An additional aim was to study the relationship between early brain injury parameters and early functional outcome. Study 1 evaluated cognitive progress during 14 years after CTBI, over three neuropsychological assessments in 8 patients with serious CTBI. Study 2 used patient records to investigate early epidemiology, received rehabilitation and medical follow up in two clinical cohorts, n=82 and n=46, treated neurosurgically for CTBI before and after 1992. An exploratory cluster analysis was applied to analyse the relation between early brain injury severity parameters and early functional outcome. In Study 3, participants in the two cohorts, n=18 and n=23, treated neurosurgically for CTBI before and after 1992, were subject to an extensive neuropsychological assessment, 13 and 6 years after injury, respectively. Assessment results of the two cohorts were compared with each other and with controls. Data were analysed with multivariate analyses of variance. Results and discussion. There were significant long-term cognitive deficits of similar magnitude and character in the two cohorts with CTBI, treated before and after the advancements in neurosurgical care. At 6-14 years after injury, long-term deficits in verbal intellectual and executive functions were found, and were discussed in terms of their late maturation and a decreased executive control over verbal memory-functions after CTBI. Visuospatial functions had a slightly better long-term recovery. The amount of rehabilitation received was equally low in both cohorts. The length of time spent in intensive care and the duration of care in the respirator may have a stronger relationship to early outcome than does a single measure of level of consciousness at admission. Main conclusions are that cognitive deficits are apparent at long-term follow up, 6-13 years after neurosurgically treated CTBI, even after advancements in the neurosurgical care in Sweden. Measures of verbal IQ, verbal memory and executive functions were especially low while visuospatial intellectual functions appear to have a better long-term recovery.

With the aim of describing variability in the long-term outcome of quality of life after neurosurgically treated pediatric traumatic brain injury, mostly self-reports of 21 individuals with mild or moderate/severe injury were gathered using Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory in telephone interviews 13 years aftyer injury. A majority of the participants reported brain injury-related problems. The median outcome on Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory was mild to moderate limitations. The variation within the moderate/severe group varied between relatively good outcome and moderate/severe limitations. Concentration, irritability, fatigue, and transportation were reported as the most problematic areas, whereas self-care was reported as well functioning. Societal participation appeared to be the best functional domain in this Swedish study. Examples of individual reports of the life-situation at various outcome levels were provided. Variability in outcome is large within severity groups, and research may gain by addressing both outcomes of the individuals and groups. Objective questions of outcome should be accompanied by questions of actual functioning in everyday life. To ensure long-term support for quality of life for those with remaining dysfunction after pediatric traumatic brain injury, healthcare systems should implement systematic routines for referral to rehabilitation and support.

Influence of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) on cognitive recovery and subsequent development is poorly understood. In this longitudinal study we used cluster analysis to explore acute stage individual profiles of injury age and cognition in 118 children with traumatic brain injury. Repeated measures of cognitive function were conducted at 30 months, indicating recovery, and 10 years post-injury, indicating development. Nine clusters were identified. Recovery was evident in three clusters, two of them with low functioning profiles. Developmental gains occurred for three clusters and an acute profile of higher freedom from distractibility (FFD) and lower processing speed (PS) was related to positive differences. One cluster, average low functioning and especially low verbal comprehension, demonstrated a slower development than peers. This suggests that developmental change after TBI in childhood takes place on a continuum, with both chance of long-term catching up, and risk of poor development. An acute profile of higher FFD and lower PS seemed to reflect injury consequences and were followed by developmental gains. These results challenge previous findings, and warrant further investigation.

Objective: To investigate the impact of time since injury on  neuropsychological and psychosocial outcome after serious TBI in childhood or adolescence. Methods: The subjects were eight patients with serious TBI sustained at a mean age of 14 years who had been assessed neuropsychological at one, seven and 14 years after TBI. A retrospective longitudinal design was chosen to describe the development in six neuropsychological domains on basis of the assessments. Psychosocial data were gathered from clinical knowledge and a semi-structured interview at 14 years after TBI. Results: Performance of verbal IQ shows a declining trend over the three assessments, that the performance of attention and working memory is low and that verbal learning is the cognitive domain, which exhibits the largest impairments. The main psychosocial result is that three of the eight subjects go from a school situation with no adjustments to adult life with an early retirement. Conclusions: Time since insult is an important factor when assessing outcome after TBI in childhood and adolescence and that assessment of final outcome should not be done before adulthood.

Objective: To explore the cognitive long term outcome of two cohorts of patients neurosurgically treated for childhood traumatic brain injury (CTBI), either in 1987-1991 according to an older concept, or 1997-2001 with a stronger emphasis on volume targeted interventions. Research design and methods: Participants in the two cohorts were subject to an extensive neuropsychological assessment, 13.2 and 6.1 years post injury, respectively. In a between group design, assessment results of the two cohorts, n 18 and n 23, were compared to each other and to controls. Data were analyzed with multivariate analyses of variance. Results: Long-term cognitive deficits for both groups of similar magnitude and character were observed in both groups. Abilities were especially low regarding executive and memory function and verbal IQ. The cognitive results are discussed in terms of  vulnerability of verbal functions and decreased executive control over memory-functions. Conclusions: There is a definite need for long term follow up of cognitive deficits after neurosurgically treated CTBI, also with the newer neurosurgical concept. Verbal learning and the executive control over memory functions should be addressed with interventions aimed at restoration, coping and compensation.

Reproducibility is a defining feature of science, but the extent to which it characterizes current research is unknown. We conducted replications of 100 experimental and correlational studies published in three psychology journals using high-powered designs and original materials when available. Replication effects were half the magnitude of original effects, representing a substantial decline. Ninety-seven percent of original studies had statistically significant results. Thirty-six percent of replications had statistically significant results; 47% of original effect sizes were in the 95% confidence interval of the replication effect size; 39% of effects were subjectively rated to have replicated the original result; and if no bias in original results is assumed, combining original and replication results left 68% with statistically significant effects. Correlational tests suggest that replication success was better predicted by the strength of original evidence than by characteristics of the original and replication teams.

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in long-term health care costs and symptom severity after adjunctive intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) individually tailored and administered to patients with bipolar disorder undergoing standard psychiatric care. Eleven therapists with different levels of expertise delivered an average of 4.6 one-hour sessions of ISTDP to 29 patients with bipolar disorders. Health care service costs were compiled for a one-year period prior to the start of ISTDP along with four one-year periods after termination. Two validated self-report scales, the Brief Symptom Inventory and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, were administered at intake and termination of ISTDP. Hospital cost reductions were significant for the one-year post-treatment period relative to baseline year, and all cost reductions were sustained for the follow-up period of four post-treatment years. Self-reported psychiatric symptoms and interpersonal problems were significantly reduced. These preliminary findings suggest that this brief adjunctive psychotherapy may be beneficial and cost-effective in select patients with bipolar disorders, and that gains may be sustained in long-term followup. Future research directions are discussed.

This study examined the effects of trial therapy interviews using intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy with 500 mixed sample, tertiary center patients. Furthermore, we investigated whether the effect of trial therapy was larger for patients who had a major unlocking of the unconscious during the interview compared with those who did not. Outcome measures were the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), measured at baseline and at 1-month follow-up. Significant outcome effects were observed for both the BSI and the IIP with small to moderate preeffect/posteffect sizes, Cohen's d = 0.52 and 0.23, respectively. Treatment effects were greater in patientswho had a major unlocking of the unconscious comparedwith thosewho did not. The trial therapy interview appears to be beneficial, and its effects may relate to certain therapeutic processes. Further controlled research is warranted.

This study was designed to examine the relationships between problem-solving skills, hardiness, and perceived stress and to test the moderating role of hardiness in the relationship between problem-solving skills and perceived stress among 500 undergraduates from Malaysian public universities. The analyses showed that undergraduates with poor problem-solving confidence, external personal control of emotion, and approach-avoidance style were more likely to report perceived stress. Hardiness moderated the relationships between problem-solving skills and perceived stress. These findings reinforce the importance of moderating role of hardiness as an influencing factor that explains how problem-solving skills affect perceived stress among undergraduates.

Suicide is a serious and growing public health problem and remains an unnecessary cause of death globally. In Iran, the highest prevalence of acute and chronic suicidal ideation is among young people aged 16-24. This study investigates the relationship between coping style, two types of perfectionism, and suicidal ideation among undergraduates, and examines coping style as a moderator of the relationship between perfectionism and suicidal ideation. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was employed to recruit 547 undergraduate students aged 19-24 years from the Islamic Azad University of Karaj. Structural Equation Modelling indicated that suicidal ideation was negatively associated with adaptive perfectionism and task-focused coping but positively associated with emotion-focused coping, avoidance coping, and maladaptive perfectionism. Coping style (including the three styles of task-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance coping) was found to moderate the relationship between perfectionism and suicidal ideation. The study advances understanding of the importance of coping style in this context and explains how perfectionism affects suicidal ideation.

Because it remains one of the third leading causes of death among adolescents around the world, suicide is a major public health concern. This study was designed in response to this concern by examining the relationships among perceived stress, emotional intelligence, and suicidal ideation and to test the moderating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between perceived stress and suicidal ideation. A sample of depressed adolescents (n = 202) was recruited from five hospitals in Tehran, Iran, and then asked to complete measures of patient health, suicidal ideation, perceived stress, and emotional intelligence. Structural Equation Modeling showed that depressed adolescent in-patients with high levels of perceived stress and low levels of emotional intelligence were more likely to report suicidal ideation. Multi-group analysis indicated that depressed in-patients high in both perceived stress and emotional intelligence had less suicidal ideation than others. The findings support the notion that perceived stress acts as a vulnerability factor that increase suicidal ideation among depressed inpatients. Suicidal history moderated the relationship between emotional intelligence and suicidal ideation. These findings also highlight the importance of emotional intelligence as a buffer in the relationship between perceived stress and suicidal ideation.

Recent evidence suggests that test anxiety is increasing among students; however, relatively little is known regarding the related factors of test anxiety. The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the relationships between two forms of perfectionism, academic hardiness, and test anxiety, and (2) examine the moderating role of academic hardiness on the association between two types of perfectionism and test anxiety. This study included 520 students ranging from 15 to 21 years of age from eight high schools in Tehran, Iran completed the self-administered questionnaires. The results of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) revealed that students with high levels of personal standards perfectionism and high levels of academic hardiness were less likely to experience test anxiety, while students with high levels of evaluative concerns perfectionism were more likely to experience test anxiety. A multi-group analysis revealed that academic hardiness moderated the relationship between evaluative concerns perfectionism and test anxiety. These findings enhance existing literature by revealing moderating processes that explain how perfectionism effects test anxiety.

One of the biggest barriers in treating adolescents with mental health problems is their refusing to seek psychological help. This study was designed to examine the relationships between two forms of perfectionism, self-concealment and attitudes toward seeking psychological help and to test the mediating role of self-concealment in the relationship between perfectionism and attitudes toward seeking psychological help among Malaysian high school students. The participants were 475 Malaysian high school students from four high schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Structural equation modelling results indicated that high school students with high levels of socially prescribed perfectionism, high levels of self-concealment, and low levels of self-oriented perfectionism reported negative attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Bootstrapping analysis showed that self-concealment emerged as a significant, full mediator in the link between socially prescribed perfectionism and attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Moderated mediation analysis also examined whether the results generalized across men and women. The results revealed that male students with socially prescribed perfectionism are more likely to engage in self-concealment, which in turn, leads to negative attitudes toward seeking psychological help more than their female counterparts. The results suggested that students high in socially prescribed perfectionism were more likely to engage in self-concealment and be less inclined to seek psychological help.

Recent evidence indicates an elevated risk of suicidal ideation for undergraduate nursing students. This research was designed to enhance the understanding of suicidal ideation in nursing students by investigating the relationships between problem-solving skills, perceived stress, hardiness, and suicidal ideation, with the possibility of hardiness acting as a moderator in the relationships between problem-solving skills appraisal and perceived stress with suicidal ideation. A multi-stage cluster random sample of Malaysian nursing undergraduate students (N = 204) completed self-report questionnaires. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that poor problem-solving skills, greater levels of perceived stress, and low levels of hardiness predicted greater levels of suicidal ideation. Also, hardiness emerged as a moderator in the links between problem-solving skills appraisal and perceived stress with suicidal ideation. The findings incrementally improve our understanding about the importance of hardiness as a moderator in explaining how problem-solving skills and perceived stress affect suicidal ideation. The results of this study are obtained from Malaysian nursing students and possible generalization to other populations should be verified by further studies.

Background: Suicidal ideation and depression are prevalent and costly conditions that reduce quality of life. This study was designed to determine the efficacy of exercise as an adjunct to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for suicidal ideation and depression among depressed individuals.

Methods: In a randomized clinical trial, 54 mildly to moderately depressed patients (54% female, mean age=48.25) were assigned to a combined CBT and exercise group or to a CBT only group. Both groups received one weekly session of therapy for 12 weeks, while the combined group also completed exercise three times weekly over the same period. Self-reported suicidal ideation, depression, and activities of daily living were measured at the beginning and the end of treatment.

Results: Multilevel modelling revealed greater improvements in suicidal ideation, depression, and activities of daily living in the combined CBT and exercise group, compared to the CBT only group.

Limitations: No follow-up data were collected, so the long-term effects (i.e., maintenance of gains) is unclear.

Conclusions: The findings revealed that exercise adjunct to CBT effectively decreases both depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in mildly to moderately depressed individuals.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between presenteeism and absenteeism during the previous year and the current levels of exhaustion and impaired work performance in a Swedish university setting.

Methods: In a study of 3525 employees, an ordinal logistic regression and general linear model was used to examine the association between presenteeism and absenteeism during the previous year and the current exhaustion and impaired work performance, respectively.

Results: Presenteeism, but not absenteeism, during the previous year independently increased the risk of having moderate or severe exhaustion. Presenteeism, absenteeism, and exhaustion remained positively associated with impaired work performance when health status and other confounders had been adjusted for.

Conclusions: Presenteeism, but not absenteeism, was associated with exhaustion. Both presenteeism and absenteeism were the salient correlates of impaired work performance.

Objective: To examine the associations between sickness presenteeism (SP) reported as number of days with SP reported as number of times and to evaluate their responsiveness.

Methods: The study population (n = 454) consisted of employed individuals, at risk of long-term sickness absence. Correlation analyses were performed to examine associations between the two SP measures and external constructs such as work performance, general health, and registered sick leave. Both SP constructs were measured several times to examine responsiveness.

Results: The SP measures are moderately correlated. They moderately correlated with work performance and health status measures. SP reported as number of times seems to be more sensitive than number of days in detecting changes after rehabilitation.

Conclusions: Numerical or categorical constructs are valid sources of data on SP. However, categorized SP seems to be more responsive.

Studien syftade att undersöka den prediktiva förmågan hos de grundläggande behoven i Self-determination theory för motivation, i en kontext av Work From Home (WFH) och Covid-19 pandemin. Fokuset var att genomföra en multipel regressionsanalys över de tre behoven kompetensbruk, autonomi och samhörighet för beroende variabel motivation. Tolkning av resultatet görs med andra länder, kulturer och organisationskulturer i åtanke. Urvalet bestod av 31 deltagare, efter bortfall på 8 personer, som omfattar arbetande inom kontorsverksamheter. Resultatet visade att endast autonomi var signifikant på fem procent nivån. Efter kontroll av mätverktygets tillförlitlighet enligt Cronbachs alfa visar sig både autonomi och kompetensbruk vara signifikanta. Ett visst överlapp identifierades mellan konstrukt vilket ökar nyttan av att undersöka den subjektiva upplevelsen i framtida forskning. Studien i samstämmighet med tidigare forskning landade i att SDT kan predicera motivation, dock gestaltas inte de psykologiska grundbehoven i samma termer på distans. Slutsatsen dras att behoven kompetensbruk och autonomi är av särskild vikt under WFH.

Auditiv mismatch negativity (MMN) är en neurologisk hjärnrespons som visar hur känslig hjärnan är för auditiva förändringar. Perceptuell load teorin argumenterar att krävande visuella sökuppgifter eliminerar auditiva distraktorer från att bearbetas i arbetsminnet. Syftet är att observera event-related potential (ERP) händelser för att se om avvikande ljud exkluderas under hög visuell belastning. Ett korsmodalt uppmärksamhetstest utfördes där deltagarna (N = 26) fick utföra en visuell sökuppgift med två svårighetsgrader samtidigt som de skulle ignorera tonfrekvenser som spelades upp i bakgrunden. Resultatet visade auditiv MMN-respons under både låg och hög visuell belastning. Det fanns ingen tydlig skillnad på MMN mellan låg och hög belastning. Hörselcortex registrerade en avvikande ton i oddball och att samma ton fanns i kontroll-upplägget. Argument för att distraktorer bearbetas under kontrollerad uppmärksamhet. Ytterligare studier med större stickprov och olika ljudfrekvenser, naturliga och icke naturliga, krävs för att se hur ljuden påverkar bearbetningsprocessen.

We examined the influence of connectedness on school engagement and life satisfaction among Roma (n = 121) and Bulgarian (n = 143) mainstream adolescents (mean age 15.89, SD = 1.18). A set of measures on family, peer, school and neighbourhood connectedness were administered alongside life satisfaction and school engagement scales. Multigroup path analysis indicated that while the relationship between connectedness, life satisfaction and school engagement was largely the same across groups, the strength of such relationship differed among groups. A closer inspection of the model indicated that when it comes to school engagement, there was a salient difference in the role of different forms of connectedness between Roma and mainstream adolescents. For Roma adolescents, familial connectedness was especially salient for school engagement. The practical and theoretical implications of our findings for strengths and adaptive processes among Roma adolescents in Bulgaria are discussed.

In this chapter, the authors report on a study that examined relations between social connectedness, school engagement, and achievement in minority (Roma) and majority youth in Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, and Romania. Based on a social connectedness model, they investigated the interplay of two connectedness domains (i.e., school and family) and their relations to school engagement and achievement. Participants were 1,063 adolescents who completed the Social Connectedness Scale on school engagement and average academic achievement. The authors found that social connectedness, especially school connectedness, was associated with school engagement while parental education was associated with school achievement. Implications are discussed in terms of how these findings are relevant to greater insight into the promotion of connectedness and the academic success of minority and majority youth across the countries under investigation.

There is hardly any cross-cultural research on the measurement invariance of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scales (BMSLSS). The current article evaluates the measurement invariance of the BMSLSS across cultural contexts. This cross-sectional study sampled 7,739 adolescents and emerging adults in 23 countries. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of configural and partial measurement weights invariance models, indicating similar patterns and strengths in factor loading for both adolescents and emerging adults across various countries. We found insufficient evidence for scalar invariance in both the adolescents’ and the emerging adults’ samples. A multi-level confirmatory factor analysis indicated configural invariance of the structure at country and individual level. Internal consistency, evaluated by alpha and omega coefficients per country, yielded acceptable results. The translated BMSLSS across different cultural contexts presents good psychometric characteristics similar to what has been reported in the original scale, though scalar invariance remains problematic. Our results indicate that the BMSLSS forms a brief measure of life satisfaction, which has accrued substantial evidence of construct validity, thus suitable for use in cross-cultural surveys with adolescents and emerging adults, although evaluation of degree of invariance must be carried out to ensure its suitability for mean comparisons.

Previous research showed that perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach have undesirable individual and organizational consequences. Surprisingly, the PC literature has paid little to no attention to the relationship between PC breach perceptions and stress. A better understanding of how PC breach may elicit stress seems crucial, given that stress plays a key role in employees' physical and mental well-being. Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, we suggest that PC breach perceptions represent a perceived loss of valued resources, subsequently leading employees to experience higher stress levels resulting from emerging negative emotions. Moreover, we suggest that this mediated relationship is moderated by initial levels of fatigue, due to fatigue lowering the personal resources necessary to cope with breach events. To tests our hypotheses, we analyzed the multilevel data we obtained from two experience sampling designs (Study 1: 51 Belgian employees; Study 2: 53 US employees). Note that the unit of analysis is observations rather than respondents, resulting in an effective sample size of 730 (Study 1) and 374 (Study 2) observations. In both studies, we found evidence for the mediating role of negative emotions in the PC breach-stress relationship. In the second study, we also found evidence for the moderating role of fatigue in the mediated PC breach-stress relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Combining theories of health lifestyles-interrelated health behaviors arising from group-based identities-with those of network and behavior change, we investigated network characteristics of health lifestyles and the role of influence and selection processes underlying these characteristics. We examined these questions in two high schools using longitudinal, complete friendship network data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Latent class analyses characterized each school's predominant health lifestyles using several health behavior domains. School-specific stochastic actor-based models evaluated the bidirectional relationship between friendship networks and health lifestyles. Predominant lifestyles remained stable within schools over time, even as individuals transitioned between lifestyles. Friends displayed greater similarity in health lifestyles than nonfriend dyads. Similarities resulted primarily from teens' selection of friends with similar lifestyles but also from teens influencing their peers' lifestyles. This study demonstrates the salience of health lifestyles for adolescent development and friendship networks.

Previous research has shown that individuals with a diagnosis within the autism spectrum

(ASD) experience a greater sensory sensitivity, but few studies have investigated the olfaction

sensitivity. The aim of the present study is to gain a deeper understanding of the olfactory

functions in adults with ASD.16 participants with ASD (14 controls) participated in the study

where sniffin sticks were used to evaluate the differences between the groups. All participants

answered a questionnaire about perceived olfaction sensitivity and the adult spectrum quotient;

AQ. Olfactory discrimination and identification (with and without cue) did not differ

between the groups, as for olfaction sensitivity, perceived pleasantness, intensity and edibility.

When it came to self-assessed olfactory sensitivity, differences were found. However, this

self-rated sensitivity did not appear in the standardized odor tests, where no significant differences

between ASD and controls odor features were detected.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are often characterized by atypical sensory behavior (hyperor hyporeactivity) although evidence is scarce regarding olfactory abilities in ASD; 16 adults with high-functioning ASD (mean age: 38.2, SD: 9.7) and 14 healthy control subjects (mean age: 42.0 years, SD: 12.5) were assessed in odor threshold, free and cued odor identification, and perceived pleasantness, intensity, and edibility of everyday odors. Although results showed no differences between groups, the Bayes Factors (close to 1) suggested that the evidence for no group differences on the threshold and identification tests was inconclusive. In contrast, there was some evidence for no group differences on perceived edibility (BF01 = 2.69) and perceived intensity (BF01 = 2.80). These results do not provide conclusive evidence for or against differences between ASD and healthy controls on olfactory abilities. However, they suggest that there are no apparent group differences in subjective ratings of odors.

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur personalen på barnhemmet L.L.C.C.M. påverkas emotionellt av att arbeta med psykiskt traumatiserade barn. Studien belyser forskning kring olika kristeorier och krisbistånd samt vilka risker som kan förekomma för en biståndsperson. Sex kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer har analyseras genom teoristyrd tematisk analys. Fyra respondenter är rwandier, och två är utländska volontärer.  Resultatet visar att personalen blir påverkad av barnens livsvillkor, men inte i så hög grad att den egna psykiska hälsan blir lidande. Religion, gemenskap eller fysisk aktivitet hjälper respondenterna att bearbeta sina egna reaktioner och motverkar att egna kriser skulle uppstå. En möjlig tolkning till detta resultat är att de har god kunskap om kriser samt en stark förankring i sitt eget liv.

Emotional support from family members may have an important effect on adolescent health outcomes, and has been identified as a target for policy to protect against the impacts of poverty and other early life adversities. However, few studies have assessed the extent to which poverty and adversity themselves influence the nature of emotional support that parents can provide to adolescents. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the impact of trajectories of income poverty and family adversities, including parental mental ill health, alcohol misuse and domestic violence across childhood developmental stages on young people’s relationships with their families and perceived emotional support received. We analysed longitudinal data on 10,976 children from the nationally representative UK Millennium Cohort study. Exposure trajectories of poverty and family adversities were characterised using group-based multi-trajectory models (age 9 months–14 years). The outcomes were perceived emotional support and quality of family relationships, measured by the three-item Short Social Provisions Scale (SPS-3) and levels of parent–adolescent closeness and conflict, measured at age 14. ORs and 95% CIs were estimated using multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for potential confounding factors. At age 14, the overall prevalence of low perceived emotional support was 13% (95% CI: 12, 14). Children of mothers with lower socioeconomic status (SES) were more likely to report low emotional support, with a clear social gradient (education—degree plus: 10.3% vs. no qualifications: 15.4%). Compared with children exposed to low levels of poverty and adversity, children in the persistent adversity trajectory groups experienced higher odds of low emotional support and low-quality parent–adolescent relationship; those exposed to both persistent poverty and poor parental mental health were particularly at increased risk of experiencing poor family relationships and low perceived emotional support (adjusted odds ratio 2·2; 95% CI 1·7–2·9). Low perceived emotional support and poor family relationships in adolescence are more prevalent among socially disadvantaged children and adolescents and those experiencing social adversity. Policies to improve levels of family support for UK adolescents should focus on improving modifiable determinants such as child poverty and family mental health. 

Begreppet känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) kan ses som en livshållning som är relaterad till människors förmåga att hantera problem som uppstår i livet. En individs KASAM utvecklas genom socialiseringsprocessen, där föräldrarnas samspel med barnet vanligtvis är central. Hur en förälder förhåller sig till ett barn kan därför ses om en viktig del i barnets utveckling där olika uppfostringsstilar kommer att påverka barnets utveckling gällande olika förmågor. En förälders förhållningssätt till ett barn kan beskrivas i form av olika uppfostringsstilar. Dessa antas relaterade till hur barnet utvecklar olika förmågor, däribland KASAM. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka sambanden mellan tre olika föräldrastilar (auktoritär, auktoritativ, tillåtande) och KASAM i vuxen ålder. Undersökningsdeltagarna (N=88) som kontaktades via öppna förskolor, besvarade en enkät om uppfostringsstilar och KASAM. Resultaten visar på ett svagt men signifikant samband mellan olika föräldrastilar och några av KASAM:s delkomponenter (hanterbarhet, r = .33, begriplighet, r = .22, r = -.27) ), men inget signifikant samband erhölls mellan föräldrastil och individens totala KASAM poäng. Mot bakgrund av att en individs KASAM visat sig avgörande för hälsa och ohälsa hos vuxna individer, visar resultatet av föreliggande studie att vidare forskning om hur olika föräldrastilar påverkar en individs KASAM är av relevans.

This paper analyzes the challenges of introducing new approaches to the care of deviant youths in contemporary welfare systems. The specific study of early intervention programs within the area of psychosocial disturbances will be used to explore the interplay between emerging research results and the introduction of new approaches in different functionally specialized welfare carrying organizations. This paper is based on a collaborative research effort between researchers from education, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, economics and business administration and key actors from schools, police, criminal care, social security administrations, municipal health care and municipal politicians and administrative managers. The paper demonstrates that successful introduction of new coping strategies necessitates significant efforts to support the bridging of boundaries, the challenging of legacies and the learning from evidence to change established structures.

I psykoterapidebatten finns två läger, som hävdar gemensamma respektive specifika faktorers betydelse för utfallet i psykoterapi. I forskningen finns brist på studier som lyfter fram klientens subjektiva upplevelse av terapins nytta. Uppsatsens syfte var att undersöka hur psykoterapiklienter integrerar och använder erfarenheter från terapin i sin vardag, samt vilka faktorer som har underlättat terapiprocessen. Tretton klienter som genomgått psykodynamisk terapi (PDT) eller kognitiv beteendeterapi (KBT) intervjuades. Data analyserades tematiskt och sammanställdes som fyra idealtyper. Resultaten visade att gruppen PDT-klienters breda problemformuleringar utvecklades via förändrade tankemönster till konkreta användningsområden. KBT-klienternas avgränsade problemformulering utvecklades via bemästrande av avgränsat problem till generaliserad användning av strategier. Viktiga gemensamma inslag i terapiprocessen var insikt, förmåga att se sig själv utifrån och möjlighet eller vilja till konkret applicering av nya erfarenheter. Underlättande faktorer var klientens beredskap och aktiva deltagande, i kombination med förtroende för terapeuten och tro på terapimodellen. Användning som alternativt utfallsmått diskuteras, liksom resultatens implikationer för terapeutisk verksamhet och synen på utvärdering av psykoterapi.

In this experiment it was investigated how scent affect the memory. Encoding information in the same context as retrieving it has been suggested to be beneficial for memory, earlier research has mostly explored how environmental contextual cues affects the memory. In this research the contextual cue was created by a presentation of a scent. The participants were presented with two lists of words, during the encoding of the first list all the participants were presented with a scent, half of the group was directed to forget the first list straight after encoding and the other half to keep remembering the list. For the second list no one was presented with a scent. In the retrieval of both lists half of each group was reinstated with the scent they were presented with at encoding and the other half without the scent (control group). The data were analysed with univariate ANOVAs and significant effects were followed up with independent-samples t-test. The results were that participants that were reinstated with the scent were thought to remember more than the others, however there was only a significant difference in the forget condition with reinstatement, where they remembered less than in the other conditions.

Dementia is a growing burden for society, and it is of interest to discover it at an early stage. Both subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and subjective olfactory decline (SOD) has been associated with future cognitive decline and dementia. However, subjective measures have often been criticized and are still not fully understood. I aimed to examinate the frequency of SCD and SOD and whether they are likely to measure different things and what their longitudinal effects are. The baseline sample (N=784, 35-90 years, 51% female) were split into reported SCD, SOD, combined subjective olfactory and cognitive decline, and controls. Between-subjects and within-subjects statistical tests were conducted on a subset of participants (N=307, 45 to 90 years, 52% female) comparing SCD and SOD and their olfactory ability, cognitive performance, and demographics. In the baseline sample, a total of 21.1% reported a SOD whereas only 9.9% reported a SCD, only 2.7% reported both. SOD individuals had an emerged olfactory decline at follow up, their olfactory performance was associated with performance in several cognitive tests, this was not the case for the SCD individuals. The SOD and the SCD groups differ from each other, and they appear to be rather independent from each other. They might be complementary in understanding the aging brain.

Att i arbetet ta del av och överidentifiera sig med andras traumatiska lidande kan resultera i stressreaktionen compassion fatigue (CF), men i motsats kan stöd i arbetet med traumatiserade ge arbetstillfredsställelse, compassion satisfaction (CS). Utbrändhet är en arbetskontextuell stressreaktion som visat sig ha ett starkt samband med CF. Utifrån en kvantitativ enkätundersökning var syftet i denna studie att undersöka skillnader i CF, utbrändhet och CS och samvariationer begreppen emellan, för handläggare på Migrationsverket respektive behandlare inom psykiatrin. T-test visade att fler handläggare har utbrändhetssymptom och uppvisar lägre grad av CS jämfört med behandlare, och multipel regressionsanalys indikerade att CF till stor del predicerar utbrändhet för handläggare och behandlare. Andra faktorer såsom arbetsbelastning, stöd i arbetet, frekvensen av traumaberättelser i arbetet, samt personligt trauma efterfrågas i framtida forskning för djupare förståelse för stressreaktioner i arbetet med traumatiserade människor.

A new scale to assess pro-bullying attitudes, the Pro-Bullying Attitude Scale (PAS) was evaluated in 259 voluntarily recruited male juvenile delinquents in Russia. Exploratory factor analysis gave a two-factor solution: Callous Dominance (CD) and Manipulativeness/ Impulsiveness (MI). The subjects were divided into three groups (low, intermediate, high) according to their scores on PAS and its two factors. Low and high group Ss were compared and results indicated higher delinquent and aggressive behavior among high group Ss as assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR) and violent behavior as assessed by the Antisocial Behavior Checklist (ABC), as well as higher scores on the personality trait Novelty seeking and lower on Cooperativeness as assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory (Cloninger et al., 1994). High PAS and CD groups displayed significantly higher scores on psychopathy traits as assessed by the Childhood Psychopathy Scale (Lynam, 1997) significantly related to registered violent crime. Probullying attitudes are discussed as a link between personality and psychopathy on the one hand and antisocial and violent behavior on the other. The PAS is also discussed in terms of usefulness in identifying high-risk individuals for violent behavior among incarcerated delinquents and in preventing violence and bullying tendencies in juvenile forensic institutions.

During the last decade there has been an increasing interest in the role of impulsivity and aggressiveness in psychosocial disturbances. Despite scientific efforts, several aspects of the relationships between these personality features and Personality Disorders, alcohol/drug abuse, and violence are still controversial. A relevant question concerns the reciprocal relationships between impulsivity and aggressiveness, and their interaction with other “action” personality traits or temperamental traits, e.g., sensation seeking. Another controversial topic is the identification of biological and neuropsychological markers of impulsivity and aggressiveness in order to get more objective measures of these personality traits than those produced by subjects' self-reports, and to obtain a deeper understanding of the phenotypic aspects underlying impulsive and aggressive behaviours as manifested in different forms of psychosocial disturbances. Starting from these considerations, the aim is to shed some light on the implications and consequences of impulsivity for psychosocial disturbances, such as criminality, abuse, and violence. The issue will be discussed in terms of development, possible underlying factors, and attitudes, which can be particularly relevant from both forensic and prevention points of view.

Huvudpunkter i detta kapitel:

• Impulsivitet är ett karaktärsdrag hos individer med ohämmat beteende, till exempel alkoholberoende, självmordsbenägenhet, hyperaktivitet och psykopatiska tendenser.

• Hyperaktivt beteende, tidig impulsivitet och antisocialt beteende sammanfaller i stort med sårbarhetsindikatorer som man funnit i studier av antisocial personlighetsstörning (APD).

• Psykopati och andra personlighetsstörningar, särskilt APD, har en hög frekvens av samtidigt missbruk.

• Beteendeproblem och våld har visat sig starkt kopplat till riskbruk hos både pojkar och flickor.

• Det finns ett väl etablerat samband mellan utagerande impulsiva och aggressiva handlingar och svagheter i serotoninmetabolismen i centrala nervsystemet (CNS).

• Biologiska markörer utforskas i relation till olika beteendeproblem och personlighetsdrag för att dessa i sin tur ska kunna bli fokus i utformandet av effektiva och tidiga interventionsprogram.

• Hela beroendekarriären ses som en dynamisk process över tid som därigenom också behöver utforskas longitudinellt.

• Impulsivitet och andra psykopatirelaterade personlighetsdrag har betydelse för individens benägenhet att utveckla drogmissbruk.

During the last decade there has been an increasing interest in the role of impulsivity and aggressiveness in psychosocial disturbances. Despite scientific efforts, several aspects of the relationships between these personality features and Personality Disorders and violence are still controversial. A relevant question concerns the reciprocal relationships between impulsivity and aggressiveness, and their interaction with other “action” personality traits or temperamental traits, e.g., sensation seeking. Another controversial topic is the identification of biological and neuropsychological markers of impulsivity and aggressiveness in order to get more objective measures of these personality traits than those produced by subjects' self-reports, and to obtain a deeper understanding of the phenotypic aspects underlying impulsive and aggressive behaviours as manifested in violence. Starting from these considerations, the present session aims at sheding some light on the implications and consequences of impulsivity for psychosocial disturbances, such as abuse and violence. The issue will be discussed in terms of development, possible underlying factors, attitudes and consequences, which can be particularly relevant from a clinical and forensic point of view.

Background: Family psychosocial characteristics in childhood have been associated with children's development into criminal behaviour and mortality. This study explored these possible relationships and examined alcohol and/or drug use and mental problems as possible mediating factors, highlighting gender-specific patterns.

Methods: Data from Swedish subjects born in 1953 (n = 14,294) from the Stockholm Birth Cohort study were examined. Several indicators of adverse family factors and individual problems were included in the present study. The information was derived from various data sources, covering different periods. Gender-specific associations with incidence of criminality (1966-1980) and mortality (1981-2009) were analysed using logistic regression. Furthermore, the population attributable fraction (PAF) was calculated for all variables in the fully adjusted models which were positively related to the outcome.

Results: Overall incidence of criminality and mortality was (m/f 32.3/6.6) and (m/f 6.1/3.5), respectively. The results showed that all aspects of family psychosocial and individual problems studied were associated with criminality for both genders. Among males, individual problems seemed to partly mediate these relations, but the associations remained statistically significant. Interestingly, the PAF analysis revealed a reduction in criminality of 17.5% when individual problems with alcohol and/or drug use were considered. Among females, a significant impact of alcohol and/or drug use on the association between family psychosocial characteristics and subsequent criminality was obtained. Inclusion of father's occupational class only somewhat reduced the estimates for the genders. Concerning male mortality, father's alcohol abuse was significantly related to an increased risk. When individual criminality was accounted for, the association was substantially reduced but remained statistically significant. Among females, when adjusting for family psychosocial factors, only the association between parents' mental problems and females' mortality was significant. None of the individual problem variables managed to explain this association.

Conclusions: Family psychosocial characteristics were associated with both subsequent criminal behaviour and mortality. These connections were partly explained by individual risk factors, especially by alcohol and/or drug use. The practical implications of the findings point to the importance of addressing the individual's alcohol and/or drug use in reducing criminal behaviour, which would also lower the mortality rates.

The objective was to examine early adolescent projective risk indicators for the development of antisocial behaviour as related to adult personality traits, psychopathy, and violent behaviour over the life span. Assessment data included Rorschach (Rr) ratings (at age 11–14 years), personality inventories (EPQ-I and KSP scales), and a shortened Psychopathy Check List (PCL) (administered at age 32–40 years), obtained from a group of 199 male subjects; and smoking habits (at age 36–44 years) obtained from 125 of those subjects. Results, controlled for intelligence, indicated that the high and very high risk groups, as determined by level of total Rr risk scores, were (1) significantly higher on self-rated IVE Impulsiveness, the anxiety-related KSP Muscular Tension, and nonconformity traits, as compared to the low Rr risk group — the very high risk group also scoring significantly higher on the EPQ Psychoticism scale, related to aggressiveness and cruelty; (2) higher on clinically rated PCL total sum and factor scores; and (3) they were overrepresented among Ss with subsequent violent offence, and Ss with heavy smoking habits. The results are discussed in terms of the possible usefulness of psychodynamic oriented cognitive-emotional indicators in the search for underlying mechanisms in the development of disinhibitory psychopathology.

The objective was to outline results from our scientific studies on the associations among childhood behavior, adult personality, and biochemical factors in smoking habits. The studies consisted of: (1) follow-up of young criminals and controls, subdivided into risk for antisocial behavior groups, based on childhood rating levels of a projective test; and adult smoking habit groups; and (2) a large group of young adults examined on the same inventories. Personality in terms of KSP and EPQ-I scale scores, controlled for intelligence, indicated that the high and very high risk groups displayed significantly higher self-rated impulsiveness, anxiety, and nonconformity, as compared to the low risk group. Further, the very high risk group subjects, found to be overrepresented among subjects with heavy smoking habits, displayed lower mean platelet MAO-B activity and higher thyroid hormone levels than the low risk group. Thus, the higher the childhood risk for antisocial behavior, the clearer the adult personality pattern making subjects more disposed for smoking appeared; and the higher smoking habits, the stronger the relationships with biochemical measures. Results are discussed in terms of possible underlying mechanisms influencing personality and smoking habits.

Objectives: To test whether older adults from high and low educational groups are differentially vulnerable to the impact of smoking and physical inactivity on the progression of mobility impairment during old age.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of older Swedish adults (n = 1,311), aged 57-76 years at baseline (1991), were followed for up to 23 years (2014). Multilevel regression was used to estimate individual trajectories of mobility impairment over the study period and to test for differences in the progression of mobility impairment on the basis of smoking status, physical activity status, and level of education.

Results: Compared to nonsmokers, heavy smokers had higher levels and steeper increases in mobility impairment with advancing age. However, there were only small and statistically nonsignificant differences in the impact of heavy smoking on mobility impairment in high versus low education groups. A similar pattern of results was found for physical inactivity.

Discussion: Differential vulnerability to unhealthy behaviors may vary across populations, age, time-periods, and health outcomes. In this study of older adults in Sweden, low and high education groups did not differ significantly in their associations between heavy smoking or physical inactivity, and the progression of mobility impairment.