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IntroductionThe prevalence of bipolar disorder (BD) is continuously increasing worldwide. Based on pathophysiological prospective, BD is related to the change in neural circuitry involved in the regulation of emotion. Since there is a cultural variation in emotion expression, it is expected that BD is subject to cultural differences. The literature suggests that the prevalence of BD is influenced by gender, region and ethnicity.ObjectivesExploring the pervasiveness of BD in the Arab cultures.Aims – exploring the pervasiveness of BD in six different but related Arab cultures;– examining the gender differences in BD in the Arab cultural context.MethodsThis study used 327 freshmen university students (42% males and 58% females) from six different Arab universities and administered the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ). The validity and reliability of the MDQ was measured on 220 Qatari university students.ResultsThe results showed that BD was positively related to age and that males exhibited greater BD symptoms than females. The MDQ scores varied between the Arab subcultures. Sudanese subjects scored the highest on the MDQ, and therefore showed the highest numbers of BD characteristics, followed by Palestinians, Egyptians, Yemenis, Qataris, Jordanians and Tunisians. The Tunisians exhibited the lowest BD symptoms among six Arab cultures.ConclusionsThe findings suggested that it is arguable that BD is sensitive to cultural variations in the Arab world, with males showing a higher number of bipolar symptoms. It is arguable that BD is influenced by cultural openness and socioeconomic status.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

IntroductionThe Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS) is a self-report 19-item scale preceded by five screening items. The BSS and its screening items are intended to assess a patient's thoughts, plans and intent to commit suicide. All 24 items are rated on a three-point scale (0 to 2). In this study, scores from the five screening items were included in the overall score. Therefore, total scores could range from 0 to 48.There is no study until this date that examines the factor structure of BSS among Kuwaitis.ObjectivesThe current study investigated the original three-factor model of the (BSS) in non-clinical sample.MethodsSample one consisted of 285 males and 300 female students from Kuwait University while sample two consisted of 201 males and 302 females from Kuwait University. The Arabic version of BSS was administered to participants. Explanatory factor based on sample 1 and conformity factor analysis based on sample 2 of BSS were used in this study.ResultsThe explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis of (BSS) extracts three factors and three structures of BSS. Factor I = active suicidal desire; Factor II = preparation; Factor III = passive suicidal desire. In addition, the results revealed no significant gender differences in the factor structure of BSS.ConclusionsThe results of both confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis indicated that the original three-factor model provided the best fit for the two genders.

IntroductionBelief inflexibility (BI) has been considered as a crucial factor for delusional conviction, but less is known about other dimensions of delusional beliefs. Question has been raised regarding the extent to which BI distinguishes delusions from strongly held (non-deluded) personally meaningful beliefs.ObjectivesWe examined the association between BI and major dimensions of delusional beliefs/non-clinical personally meaningful beliefs, and compared results from two BI measures (Maudsley assessment of delusions schedule [MADS] and bias against disconfirmatory evidence [BADE] task).MethodsIdiosyncratic delusional beliefs from 40 outpatients with non-affective psychosis and personally meaningful beliefs from 30 healthy controls were assessed in an interview. Belief dimensions (conviction, preoccupation, and distress) and BI were measured.ResultsCompared with controls, patients reported higher levels of distress and preoccupation but a comparable level of conviction (3.30/4 vs. 3.00/4, t(66.967) = 1.928. P = n.s.). Patients exhibited lower belief flexibility than controls on MADS but not on BADE. In patients, delusional conviction was associated with lower flexibility on a MADS item (“possibility of being mistaken”: t(38) = 4.808, P < 001) and the BADE evidence integration index (r = 0.463, P = 01). In healthy controls, belief conviction was associated with lower flexibility on a MADS item (“reaction to hypothetical contradiction”: t(27) = 3.345, P=.002). Two-way ANOVA revealed that the association between possibility of being mistaken and conviction was stronger in patients than controls (F(1) = 6.718, P = 012). In both groups, BI on either measure did not correlate with distress or preoccupation.ConclusionsBI was specifically associated with belief conviction. The association was significant for both groups, and was stronger in patients than controls.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Introduction A continuum perspective to understand persecutory delusions suggests that non-clinical persecutory ideations are at the mild end on the same spectrum of persecutory delusions. Based on clinical studies, reasoning biases such as 'jumping to conclusions' (JTC) style, attributional biases (AB), and Theory of Mind (ToM) deficit have been suggested as cognitive risk factors of persecutory delusions, with most robust evidence for JTC. Consistent with the continuum perspective, it is of interest whether these reasoning biases are risk factors of persecutory ideations in the non-clinical population as well. Objectives To examine the association between JTC, AB, ToM deficit, and persecutory ideations in non-clinical populations. Aims To test the following hypotheses: 1. JTC, AB, and ToM deficit will be found in individuals with non-clinical persecutory ideations. 2. Among the three biases, JTC will be more strongly associated with the severity of persecutory ideations in the non-clinical population. Methods Twenty studies from 2001 to 2013 analyzing the relationship between reasoning biases and severity of persecutory ideations in non-clinical populations were systematically reviewed. Results JTC, AB and ToM deficit were found in individuals with non-clinical persecutory thinking but at reduced levels of severity as compared to the clinical populations. A consistent association between JTC and non-clinical persecutory thinking was found across studies. However, studies of AB and ToM deficit yielded conflicting findings. Conclusions Current findings confirm the role of JTC in the pathogenesis of persecutory delusions, and support the development of early interventions targeting data-gathering for individuals at risk of developing persecutory delusions.

Background and aim Many psychotic and personality disorders of children are the result of deprivation of maternal care or lack of reliability of a child with the attached individual. Since attachment problems are one of the features of borderline personality disorder, this study aims at studying the relationship between attachment styles and symptoms of borderline personality disorder in non-clinical samples. Materials and Methods The present study was conducted as a survey and it was descriptive. Therefore, a sample of 300 individuals were randomly selected and tested. Participants responded to adult attachment styles and symptoms of borderline personality questionnaire. The data were analyzed using one way analysis of variance. Results The results revealed that people with avoidant attachment styles compared to those with secure attachment and ambivalent insecure attachment style got the highest score in borderline personality disorder symptoms. Discussion and Conclusion The results obtained in this study are somewhat consistent with this idea that environmental factors such as attachment styles have an important role in the development of borderline personality disorder also these findings are in accordance with with previous research in clinical samples and in line with the theory of attachment styles in borderline personality disorder are debatable.

Introduction Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS) is a self-report questionnaire designed to identify high risk and vulnerable subjects to bipolar disorders in non-clinical samples. Objectives To identify HPS factorial structure in a French non-clinical sample and to compare for different factors solutions described in the literature. Methods We carried out a survey within a student population with a French version of HPS. The factorial structure of HPS was tested first by a scree plot with simulation (using R “psy” library) in an Exploratory Factorial Analysis (EFA) with promax rotation. Secondly the number of factor was fixed for a Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (CFA) performed with AMOS. Results A total of 347 students (mean age 23 years, 80% of women) were included in PCA (incomplete questionnaires were not included). Scree Plot with simulation revealed a 5 factors solution which accounted for 33% of the total variance. We also tested the 3 and 4 factors solution to compare respectively with factors solution obtained by Rawling et al. (2000) and more recently by Schalet et al. (2011). Our 4 factors solution was identical to Rawling et al. (2000) but the 3 factors solution was different from Schalet et al. (2011). Goodness of fit indices showed that the 5 factors solution “fits” our data better compared to other factorial solutions. Conclusions French version of the HPS showed a factorial structure composed of 5 factors in a non-clinical student population. However, this result needs to be confirmed with a more important and representative sample.

Background Dental anxiety is very prevalent in population and it could be linked with dental problems. Objective Authors' objective was to analyze basic demographic characteristics of urban non clinical sample in order to find which of them is the most related to dental anxiety and to analyze anxiety and phobic reactions which are related to dental interventions. Method We have analyzed 401 individuals from the urban non clinical sample (44,1% women, mean age was 32 years, and 43,4% of parents with most prevalent secondary education). We have used dental Anxiety Scale and sociodemographic questionnaire. Results Almost all individuals (99%) has got dental visit and 70 of sample has dental visit in previous year. Most of sample (75,8%) indicate that they do non have any or have minimal dental anxiety, but 10,9% participants indicate that they have high dental anxiety and fear. Most of the sample does not avoid dental visits but 9,9% of sample avoid dental visit because of dental anxiety.

IntroductionRecurrent depression could be considered as a stumbling block for the individuals during their active period of life. Beside the global functionality, recurrent depression could affect negatively academic skills of depressed subjects that will result in considerable higher indirect costs of the disorder. Our main objective was to reveal the clinical and non clinical factors correlated with academic impairment in subjects with recurrent depression.Material and methodsWe performed a longitudinal retrospective study on 248 patients admitted in our Clinic for Recurrent depressive disorder during 2001 - 2005. Two control samples were done, one with Bipolar affective disorder (N=44) and other with Persistent delusional disorder (N=59).ResultsFrom 90 depressed subjects who were employed at the onset of psychiatric disorder, 56 (62.2%) became retired and another 6 (6.6%) became unemployed. Despite the treatability of recurrent depression the negative outcome on academic skills was similar to that occurring in both control groups that traditionally are considered as being more disabling. The clinical factors that concurred to the worsening of academic status were the more advancing age at the onset and actual moment of recurrent depression (p=0.006 and p=0.012 respectively), along with longer total duration of recurrent depression (p< 0.001), the absolute total number of depressive episodes and psychiatric hospitalizations (p=0.001).Conclusions and discussionsRecurrent depression has a significant negative outcome on academic skills. The disabling character of recurrent depression could be caused by its high chronicity along with high recurrent pattern of clinical evolution.

Introduction and aim:Based on emotional intelligence (EI) Theory it was expected that EI component differences would likely be obtained on variables including problem-solving, happiness, stress-tolerance, self-actualization, interpersonal relationship. So the purpose of the current study was compare the emotional intelligence (EI) components in suicidal patients and non-clinical samples.Method:A total of 60 participants took part in this study, including 30 patients (12 male, 18 femal) who had recently (in the past three days) attempted suicide, and 30 non-clinical participants. Sampling was arranged so that there were no significant differences among groups in age, education, gender or marital status. All participants completed the bar-on EI questionnaire (90 item version). the bar-on EI questionnaire can measure the ability to understand, interprete, and control ones emotions.Data were analyzed using t-test and Chi square formula.Results:Findings of the current study indicated significant differences among groups on the EI levels. the two groups were differentiated on problem-solving ( T=-2.316 df=58, p< .05 ), happiness ( T=-3.065 df=58, p< .05 ), stress-tolerance ( T=-2.011 df=58, p< .05 ), and self-actualization ( T=-2.579 df=58, p< .05 ).Conclusion:The results of the current study are congruent with the other researchs in this field. Further studies are necessary to confirm these findings, but the results imply that Ei education program may be relevant to reducing risk of suicidal behavior in young peoples.