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Background: The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) is a recently developed instrument for assessing the "dark" personality traits of psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism. We aimed to examine the SD4's psychometric properties, adapting it into Spanish and exploring its structure, gender invariance, reliability, concurrent validity, and nomological network. Method: A sample of 668 adults (Mage = 26.36, SD = 10.64, 69.2% females) completed the SD4 and other self-report questionnaires. Results: The results demonstrated sound indices of reliability and concurrent validity, an adequate four-factor structure, and support for gender invariance. Furthermore, most of the findings about the nomological network were in line with prior hypotheses: All four SD4 scales were associated with low levels of agreeableness and antagonism; psychopathy was also related to low conscientiousness, disinhibition and impulse-control problems; narcissism was positively associated with extraversion and negatively associated with internalizing symptoms; Machiavellianism was uncorrelated with impulsivityrelated problems, which made it distinct from the psychopathy profile; finally, sadism showed a similar pattern of associations to psychopathy, albeit less strongly linked to impulsivity problems and externalizing behavior. Conclusions: Overall, the SD4 presents sound psychometric properties, although the overlap between psychopathy and sadism warrants some caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study's significance lies in the multitude of challenges facing individuals today, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, military conflicts like the war in Ukraine, and the escalating rates of cancer morbidity and mortality. These factors contribute to the onset of anxiety and depressive disorders, disrupting various aspects of individuals' mental functioning and social interactions. Addressing these disorders effectively necessitates a comprehensive approach, combining pharmacological interventions with psychotherapeutic strategies under the guidance of specialized professionals. In this regard, the study is aimed at identifying aspects and features of the development of psychological problems and personality disorders in the modern world filled with various stressors. The leading methods of studying this problem are analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison, experiment and systematisation of approaches that will help determine a wide range of mental disorders. Theoretical methods were used to analyze the literature and summarize theoretical material on anxiety and depressive disorders. Diagnostic methods were used to assess the psychological state of the study population. The study examines significant clinical syndromes and vegetative disorders that disrupt normal lifestyle, hinder daily activities, and impede professional growth. It evaluates the roles of psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers in assisting individuals with anxiety disorders. It outlines preventive measures for anxiety and depression, while also delving into various types of anxiety disorders. The research proposes diverse methods to prevent emotional anxiety and instability. It underscores the importance of devising novel strategies for diagnosis and therapy, emphasizing a comprehensive approach involving psychotherapeutic support, medical intervention, and adaptive behavioral techniques. The findings of the study hold both practical and theoretical significance for professionals in psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and sociology who provide support for individuals with anxiety and depressive disorders. Furthermore, the insights provided may be pertinent to researchers and scholars investigating the psychological well-being of contemporary society amidst adverse external circumstances.

ObjectivesThis study aims to test the psychometric proprieties of the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) applied to younger (13-16 years) and older (17-20 years) Italian adolescents examining (1) the factorial structure of RFQ; (2) its invariance across age and sex; (3) correlations between RFQ subscale scores, as well as the associations of the RFQ with (4) psychological problems and alexithymia dimensions.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 593 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 20 years old recruited from the community within Italy. These participants completed the RFQ, Symptom Checklist-90, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale.ResultsThe two-factor structure of the RFQ was confirmed. However, higher internal consistency of RFQ was obtained by removing two items that seemed problematic within this sample. Using a six-item version of RFQ, the two-factor structure was invariant across adolescent age and sex. Significant correlations among RFQ subscale scores, and between RFQ subscales with both psychological problems and alexithymia dimensions were found.ConclusionsPreliminary results reveal a short version of RFQ (six-item) is a suitable measure to assess mentalizing in adolescents in the Italian context.

Peter Muris,1,2 Henry Otgaar1,3 1Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; 2Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa; 3Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumCorrespondence: Peter Muris, Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, Maastricht, 6200 MD, the Netherlands, Email peter.muris@maastrichtuniversity.nlAbstract: The present review addressed the relationship between two self-related concepts that are assumed to play a role in human resilience and well-being: self-esteem and self-compassion. Besides a theoretical exploration of both concepts, a meta-analysis (k = 76, N = 35,537 participants) was conducted to examine the magnitude of the relation between self-esteem and self-compassion and their links to indices of well-being and psychological problems. The average correlation between self-esteem and self-compassion was strong (r = 0.65, effect size = 0.71), suggesting that – despite some distinct features – the overlap between both self-related constructs is considerable. Self-esteem and self-compassion displayed relations of a similar magnitude to measures of well-being and psychological problems, and both concepts accounted for unique variance in these measures once controlling for their shared variance. Self-esteem and self-compassion can best be seen as complementary concepts and we invite researchers to look more at their joint protective role within a context of well-being and mental health as well as to their additive value in the treatment of people with psychological problems.Keywords: self-esteem, self-compassion, resilience, well-being, psychological problems, interventions

IntroductionInternet addiction (IA) is becoming a significant public health issue that requires urgent attention, especially for adolescents. Previous studies mainly focused on the risk factors of Internet addiction and drawn some conclusions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the Internet addiction status and concurrent psychological problems in adolescent groups, and explore the differences in the relationship between IA and psychological problems in adolescents from gender and grade.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among students of junior and senior high school in 21 prefecture-level cities of Guangdong Province. The Young Diagnostic Questionnaire (YDQ) and the validated Chinese version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) were used to assess participants’ Internet addiction and psychological status. Two-way ANOVA was used to verify the interaction between gender and Internet addiction, grade and Internet addiction on psychological problems. When the interaction was statistically significant, simple effect analysis was further carried out.ResultsThe prevalence of problematic Internet use (PIU), depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among adolescents were 16.32%, 30.16%, 35.97% and 18.80% respectively. Although the prevalence of PIU among boys (17.89%) was higher than that of girls (14.86%), girls in PIU group had the highest scores of depression, anxiety and stress. Similarly, the interaction between grade and Internet addiction was also significant (p

Allah bestowed His Blessings upon man when He sent His Messenger, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (PBUH). At that time, man was entangled in social, cultural, environmental, emotional and psychological barriers which had been weakening his bondage to his Creator, The Almighty. He (PBUH) explicitly planned to free human beings from the shackles that chained them from within and from without". As the Qur'an says that the Prophet (PBUH) is commissioned "to remove from their burdens and the shackles which were upon them". A number of books and articles have been written on his diligent training of mankind for its social, cultural, environmental and emotional evolution. The Researcher felt the need of acknowledgement of his practices in the context of psychological problems. This article has explored the psychological aspect of his (PBUH) character and discussed as to how the Muslims can help themselves to eradicate and solve the psychological problems prevailing in the society with the help of Seerah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The study is qualitative and analytical based on the Qur'an, the Hadith and the Researches done so far in the field of Psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a massive health crisis that has exerted enormous physical and psychological pressure. Mental healthcare for healthcare workers (HCWs) should receive serious consideration. This study served to determine the mental-health outcomes of 1,556 HCWs from 45 countries who participated in the COVID-19 IMPACT project, and to examine the predictors of the outcomes during the first pandemic wave. Methods: Outcomes assessed were self-reported perceived stress, depression symptom, and sleep changes. The predictors examined included sociodemographic factors and perceived social support. Results: The results demonstrated that half of the HCWs had moderate levels of perceived stress and symptoms of depression. Half of the HCWs (n = 800, 51.4%) had similar sleeping patterns since the pandemic started, and one in four slept more or slept less. HCWs reported less perceived stress and depression symptoms and higher levels of perceived social support than the general population who participated in the same project. Predictors associated with higher perceived stress and symptoms of depression among HCWs included female sex, not having children, living with parents, lower educational level, and lower social support. Discussion: The need for establishing ways to mitigate mental-health risks and adjusting psychological interventions and support for HCWs seems to be significant as the pandemic continues.

This study intended to explore the current status of psychological problems of preschool teachers in Southwest China 1 year after the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess the association between mental health education and psychological problems and symptoms of psychopathology. A total of 614 preschool teachers from Southwest China were enrolled to complete the questionnaires of the Chinese Symptom Checklist (SCL-90). Notably, 60% of the respondents reported psychological distress with GSI T-scores ≥ 63, especially the high score was reported on obsessive-compulsive disorder, interpersonal sensitivity, and phobic anxiety. Although less than half of the respondents have received mental health education last year, the teachers who received the mental health education reported lower GSI T-scores(β = −1.303, 95% CI: −2.208, −0.397). The results demonstrated the significance of constructing the education of promoting mental health of preschool teachers, and enlightening government or managers of kindergartens to relieve the psychological problems of preschool teachers through mental health education, especially for those with the pressure of overtime. It is recommended that local governments or kindergartens should organize more mental health education for kindergarten teachers to improve their mental health as well as their teaching professionalism.

The paper starts with the research on the early discovery of college students' psychological problems. Besides, it analyzes the data of the general survey of college students' mental health in a certain university, the existing data of students with psychological problems, and the questionnaire data of students' basic information in school. By comprehensively using the decision tree model and Kendall correlation analysis and other methods, using Python and SPSS software to preprocess the data and realize the model, it can obtain a psychological problem prediction model based on the objective behavior data of college students. The model is actually analyzed, and it gets good results.

Cyberbullying is manifested in repeated deliberate acts of aggression by one or more persons who use electronic means of communication to attack a victim who cannot defend him- or herself. Cyberbullying is a form of violence through harassment, insults, bullying, humiliation or intimidation carried out using the Internet, mobile phones and other electronic devices. Cyberbullying is widespread and causes severe harm to its victims, having a negative impact on their mental and physical health. The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable and valid questionnaire on assessing individual vulnerability to cyberbullying. The article constructs such a questionnaire and proves that it meets the standard reliability criteria: internal consistency, homogeneity and retest reliability. It is shown that the questionnaire is valid and satisfies the key validity criteria: validation in the process of designing the questionnaire, substantive, constructive and convergent validity. The questionnaire is standardised, the norms for young men and women are given, presented in average values and standard deviations. The theoretical basis of the study is the model of manipulative influence (which includes cyberbullying) and the psychological mechanism of cyberbullying described by this model. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model of the presented questionnaire has good indicators of reliability and statistical consistency. The experimental part of the study involved 307 young men and women at the ages from 17 to 21 years old - students of medical colleges and cadets of the University of the Ministry of Emergencies. The study included two stages of psychodiagnostics of the subjects carried out with an interval of two months. The states of individuals vulnerable to cyberbullying, identified using the questionnaire, are consistent with the results obtained in previous studies. The proposed questionnaire makes it possible to warn an individual about the existing or threatening danger of becoming a victim of cyberbullying. The questionnaire can stimulate the study of cyberbullying in the Russian-speaking society and, in particular, in cross-cultural studies.

The main objective of this study is to identify the psychological problems of 7-11 year-old children of divorce based on the lived experience of teachers and mothers. The research method used was one of a descriptive survey with the statistical population comprising elementary school male and female children aged 7-11. From this number, 280 comprised the sample selected from all the boys' and girls' schools in Esfahan using a multi-stage cluster sampling. The data collection instrument was the Achenbach questionnaire (Mother and Teacher inventory). The data were analyzed using Chi-square test where upon the results indicated that based on the mothers' reports, the commonest problems were complaints about physical pain (6.8%), withdrawal, depression, aggressive behavior (6.4%), and physical problems (6%). Furthermore, based on the teachers' reports, the commonest problems were anxiety or depression, physical and behavioral problems (6.4%), aggressive behavior, emotional problems (6%), and social problems (5.7%).

The COVID-19 is creating panic among people around the world and is causing a huge public mental health crisis. Large numbers of observational studies focused on the prevalence of psychological problems during the COVID-19 pandemic were published. It is essential to conduct a meta-analysis of the prevalence of different psychological statuses to insight the psychological reactions of general population during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Sixty six observational studies about the psychological statuses of people during the COVID-19 were included, searching up to 1 December 2020. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. OpenMeta[Analyst] was used for the data analysis. High prevalence of acute stress and fear symptoms were observed in the early period of the epidemic. Additionally, anxiety and depression symptoms continued at a high prevalence rate during the epidemic. It should alert the lasting mental health problems and the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders.Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO CRD 42020171485.

Background. Near-death experience is an altered state of consciousness at the time when the person is on the threshold of death. Near-death experience has a specific structure which includes such elements as extra corporal experience, moving in a dark tunnel, seeing bright light, meetings with the deceased persons, panoramic life review and many others. The condition is quite common nowadays particularly due to the success of resuscitation and a high level of emergency care organization). Experience in itself and its some consequences derivate a lot of psychological problems at the person, which he is afraid to tell not only medical staff, but also relatives because of danger of interpretation his (her) near-death experiences as marks of psychic illness. The Objective of the analytical theoretical research was to study the experience of working with such patients, accumulated in Western medicine, psychology and psychotherapy, the organization of the training process and also the organization of psychotherapeutic support for survivors and members of their families. Design. This article analyzes the foreign (most publications on this subject is carried out in the United States) works on the problem of treatment with near-death experiencer and psychological support for them, the material contained in these works is structured and summarized on the main problems in this area. Research results. Based on the review and analysis of the reference literature a preliminary Atwater’s adaptation model of the near-death experience is proposed, the integration of this experience is viewed as the main goal to be implemented by the experiencer independently or in collaboration with a psychotherapist, the universal rules of treating near-death experiencers are elaborated. There are rules of treating different groups of experiencers and different categories of people interacting with them are identified and integrated: the rules of treating children with near-death, the experience of organizing psychotherapeutic assistance to their relatives. Conclusion. The compliance with the rules by physicians, psychotherapists and relatives of near-death patients contributes to the decreased emotional and social problems in the patient, and sometimes even prevents their occurrence.

The article is devoted to partner relationships, theoretical approaches to this phenomenon and main strands of its scientific research in foreign academic studies. Along with a theoretical observation, empirical study was conducted in order to find out possible relations between sources of problems in partner relationships and personality. Seven men and thirty-three women with such problems (N=30) took part in semi-structured interview, and the three following sources of problems were found: personal features of behavior, parents role models and external factors. The participants also filled in special questionnaires devoted to personality characteristics. The results showed that partners with high negative personality characteristics had problems with personal features of behavior in relationships. This result is consistent with previous studies and could be used for practical needs

To date, more than 11 million Syrians have been forced from their homes due to the civil war in that country. However, little research has been done on adolescent Syrian refugees. This study aimed to fill that gap in the research literature by examining how adolescent Syrian refugees cope with the harsh situation of having fled from their homes. We explored how personal capital factors, sense of coherence (SOC), wishes, and expectations, as well as socio-demographic and situational factors, contribute to a variety of mental health and psychological problems, namely, internalizing and externalizing problems and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Data were gathered from 110 adolescents aged 13–18 of whom 50.9% were boys. Participants filled out self-report questionnaires that asked about demographics, exposure to war, appraisal of danger, receiving aid, SOC, wishes, and expectations. They also completed the Achenbach Youth Form. The results show that girls appraised their situation as more dangerous and reported more internalizing, externalizing, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. By contrast, boys reported more exposure to war experiences and stronger SOC. Younger adolescents reported stronger SOC, while older adolescents reported more psychological problems. The adolescents who had more recently arrived in the refugee camp were in better condition, thereby reporting stronger SOC, higher expectations, and fewer psychological problems. The amount of time spent in the refugee camp, gender, exposure to war situations, and appraisal of danger all contributed to the explained variance in the different psychological problems. However, once the personal resource SOC was entered into the model, it mediated the relationships between all of the socio-demographic and situational variables, on the one hand, and the examined psychological problems, on the other. The results are discussed based on the personal-capital model of salutogenesis and its relations with traumatic stress.

The article analyses the foreign publications, concerning the main problems of children left without parental care. It provides international statistics on the number of orphans in the world. The article analyses the situation of orphans in Africa, whose parents died from AIDS, and specifies difficulties in life maintenance of such children. The article characterizes orphans living in institutional settings, and the impact of institutional education on the psychological wellbeing of these children. It also identifies some features of orphans living in hard circumstances.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first goal was to investigate which variables were associated with the remaining physical limitations of severely injured patients after the initial rehabilitation phase. Second, we investigated whether physical limitations were attributable to the association between psychological complaints and quality of life in this patient group.Methods: Patients who were 18 years or older and who had an injury severity score (ISS)>15 completed a set of questionnaires at one time-point after their rehabilitation phase (15-53 months after their trauma). The Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA) questionnaire was used to determine physical limitations. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Dutch Impact of Event Scale and the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire were used to determine psychological complaints, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment instrument-BREF was used to measure general Quality of Life (QOL). Differences in physical limitations were investigated for several trauma- and patient-related variables using non-parametric independent-sample Mann-Whitney U tests. Multiple linear regression was performed to investigate whether the decreased QOL of severely injured patients with psychological complaints could be explained by their physical limitations.Results: Older patients, patients with physical complaints before the injury, patients with higher ISS scores, and patients who had an injury of the spine or of the lower extremities reported significantly more physical problems. Additionally, patients with a low education level, patients who were living alone, and those who were unemployed reported significantly more long-term physical problems. Severely injured patients without psychological complaints reported significantly less physical limitations than those with psychological complaints. The SMFA factor of Lower extremity dysfunction was a confounder of the association between psychological complaints and QOL in all QOL domains.Conclusions: Long-term physical limitations were mainly reported by patients with psychological complaints. The decreased QOL of severely injured patients with psychological complaints can partially be explained by physical limitations, particularly those involving lower extremity function. Experienced physical limitations were significantly different for some trauma and patient characteristics. These characteristics may be used to select patients for whom a rehabilitation programme would be useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O objetivo do estudo foi examinar a presença de indicadores emocionais no Desenho da Figura Humana (DFH), utilizando o sistema Koppitz, em crianças transplantadas e sem problemas de saúde, comparando-as de acordo com o sexo. Quarenta e sete crianças transplantadas e 88 sem problemas de saúde com idades entre 5 e 12 anos completaram o DFH e responderam a uma entrevista sobre o mesmo. O teste t mostrou que os meninos transplantados apresentaram mais indicadores emocionais que os meninos sem problemas de saúde. Análise de regressão logística evidenciou que o indicador integração pobre das partes e DFH na posição esquerda do papel são características típicas das crianças transplantadas. Os resultados indicam que as crianças transplantadas, especialmente os meninos, possuem maiores riscos de apresentar problemas psicológicos. Uma avaliação sistemática desses pacientes é necessária para minimizar eventuais conseqüências emocionais relacionadas à doença crônica e ao transplante de órgãos na infância.This study aims at examining the presence of emotional indicators in the Draw-A- Person Test (DAP), employing the Koppitz Scoring System, in transplanted and healthy children comparing them according to their gender. Forty-seven transplanted and 88 healthy children aged 5-12 completed the DAP and answered an interview about it. The T-test showed that male transplanted children presented more emotional indicators than male healthy children. Logistic regression analysis (LRA) demonstrated that 'poor integration of parts' indicator and DAP in the left side of the paper are typical characteristics of transplanted children. It seems that transplanted children, especially boys, are at higher risk to present psychological problems. A systematic evaluation of those patients is necessary to minimize emotional consequences due to chronic disease and organ transplantation in childhood.

This study aims at examining the presence of emotional indicators in the Draw-A- Person Test (DAP), employing the Koppitz Scoring System, in transplanted and healthy children comparing them according to their gender. Forty-seven transplanted and 88 healthy children aged 5-12 completed the DAP and answered an interview about it. The T-test showed that male transplanted children presented more emotional indicators than male healthy children. Logistic regression analysis (LRA) demonstrated that 'poor integration of parts' indicator and DAP in the left side of the paper are typical characteristics of transplanted children. It seems that transplanted children, especially boys, are at higher risk to present psychological problems. A systematic evaluation of those patients is necessary to minimize emotional consequences due to chronic disease and organ transplantation in childhood.

This study was carried out to reveal, in detail, the psychosocial problems faced by women in Turkey during their illness with gynecological cancer, and how they cope with these problems. The phenomenological approach used for the methodology is consistent with that described by Clark Moustakas's transcendental phenomenology. The sample included 17 married women. A semistructured, in-depth question directive was used to collect the data. The psychological problems found in the women in the study included frustration and despair, depression, inability to control anger, disruption in body image, and problems with their sex lives. The women in the study stated that, among other activities, they prayed frequently. They also emphasized that social support from family and others was important in coping. The majority said that they were able to cope through denial. Women under treatment for gynecological cancer should be evaluated from a psychosocial standpoint, and spiritual care and social support should be provided as they frequently use these to cope with their illness. It is recommended that a team be created, consisting of nurses, psychiatrists or psychologists, and religious staff to meet these needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is one of the most prevalent nutrition-related problems in western societies. Many studies indicated that obese children with body dissatisfaction had significantly lower self-esteem and high level of depressive symptoms than the obese children without body dissatisfaction and normal weight children. The obesity may have many psychological outcomes like low self-esteem, declined academic performances, etc. In India obesity is a growing problem basically in children and adolescents. The present study is planned to track the physical, psychological, social and environmental factors associated with the overweight and obesity of children and adolescents of eastern part of Uttar Pradesh and also try to focus on the parents of such children on how they contribute in their children weight gain and their awareness about the health related consequences of obesity. The preliminary interview data on 25 obese girls (aged between 13 to 18 years) suggested that all the participants were not part in extracurricular activities of school, not using exercises, yoga in their daily routine and also they were admitted that most of the day they are not taking proper breakfast. Aggression, stress and low confidence was also noticed in all the participant girls. Parents were aware of obesity and some of its unable efforts motivate their girls for proper diet and exercise. These obese girls face and teasing by their peers and siblings and this is one reason that they did not participant in social occasion's outdoor activities and parties and their problem of obesity further aggravates. The findings are throwing a light on the causes and maintaining factors of obesity as well as the psychological and social indicators of obesity and some associated factors, the parental role etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current descriptive study was conducted to explore the psychological problems faced by adolescents and their influence on different areas of adolescents' everyday lives. A sample of 355 adolescents (186 males and 169 females) was recruited from different sector secondary schools of Karachi, Pakistan. The age range of the sample was from 10 to 17 years (Mean= 14.4 years; SD = 1.57). Their education level was from 6th to 11th grade. A Demographic and Personal Information Form and a Semi- Structured Interview Form of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997) was administered on the participants to determine the problems of adolescents. Descriptive statistics were calculated by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, V-20.0). The results revealed that 53.3% participants reported to have difficulties in areas of emotions, concentration, and behavior and have problems in getting on with other people. Furthermore among those who are facing difficulties, 38.1% reported that they have minor problems, 10.1% reported to have definite problems and 5.1% reported to have severe problems. In addition 8.5% reported to have a lot of distress due to these difficulties. Limitations of the study and its implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This cross-sectional study investigated the clinical features of functional constipation ( FC) at preschool age, as well as emotional and behavioral characteristics of the children, psychological symptom level and parental attitudes of the mothers, and compared these with that of non-referred typically developing controls with normal intestinal habits. Methods Participants included 65 children with FC (mean age, 43.6 ± 15.4 months; range, 25-72 months), 59 healthy controls (mean age, 46.9 ± 14.5 months; range, 25-72 months) and the mothers of the children. The Childhood Behavior Checklist, Symptom Checklist 90 and Parental Attitude Research Instrument were filled in by the mothers. Results Participants with FC had higher problem scores than the comparison children in a variety of emotional and behavioral parameters. Approximately half exhibited internalizing and one-third had externalizing problems in the clinical range. The mothers of the patient group had higher levels of psychological distress, overprotective parenting and strict discipline. On multiple logistic regression analysis child psychopathology, maternal education level and maternal distress were independently associated with FC. Conclusion Behavior problems are common in children with FC from an early age. Low level of education and high psychological distress of the mothers seem to be important risk factors for constipation and should be assessed carefully in the management of these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquired brain injury (ABI) causes numerous problems, including cognitive and personality changes, which can be quite stressful for caregivers. In this study, we aimed to adapt an instrument to measure caregivers’ distress, the Relative Version of the Head Injury Behaviour Scale (HIBS; Godfrey et al., 2003) to the Spanish language and to determine whether the positive aspects of caregiving moderate the effects of the psychological problems of ABI on caregivers’ distress. Moderation analyses indicated that positive aspects of caregiving involving one's outlook on life reduced the association between psychological problems and caregivers’ distress. The findings suggest that although the caregiver role is a source of distress, this role can also become a source of satisfaction, actually contributing to reducing caregivers’ distress. The importance of promoting the positive aspects of caregiving in rehabilitation programmes is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: To describe and compare psychological, behavioural and adjustment problems in pre-school patients with acquired brain lesions of different aetiology. Methods: Three groups of patients with acquired brain lesions (14 patients post-TBI, 18 brain tumour survivors and 23 patients with vascular or infectious brain lesions), ranging in age between 24-47 months, received a psychological evaluation, including the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 2-3 (CBCL) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS). Results: About half of the total sample (47.2%) showed psychological and behavioural problems. Difficulties vary according to the aetiology of the brain lesions. Brain tumour survivors showed more marked internalizing problems, whereas children with vascular or infectious brain lesions scored higher on the CBCL externalizing scales. Children with traumatic brain injury reported intermediate scores on most of the CBCL scales. Conclusions: Psychological and behavioural difficulties are very common, not only among school-aged children and adolescents, but also among pre-schoolers with acquired brain lesions. The relevance and the impact of these difficulties must necessarily be considered when developing psychological treatment and rehabilitation plans and planning for social re-entry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Since the premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is one of the most prevalent disorders in fertility age that disturbs the women's life considerably which seems it need to do more study in this area. The present study was planned to investigate the effectiveness of training of cognitivebehavioral stress-management on decreasing psychological problems and symptoms of premenstrual syndrome of afflicted women in Kashmar city. Methods: This interventional study was conducted with pretest- posttest design by using the experimental-control groups. Statistical population was consisted of all female members of educational system in Kashmar city in academic year of 2010-2011. After screening by PSST test, 40 participants who have taken PMS diagnosis, were selected randomly based on cluster sampling method and divided randomly into two equal (20 participants) experimental and control groups. While no intervention was carried out on the control group, the experimental group experienced 8 weeks of cognitive-behavioral stress-management training. The questionnaires of PSST and Depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS) were used in pretest and posttest as evaluating tools. Data were analyzed using statistical SPSS software version 16, descriptive indices and covariance analysis. P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: More than half of the participants (53.3%) were between 36 to 40 years. 18 persons (60%) were graduated, 10 persons (33.4%) had Associate degree, 2 persons (6.6%) had diploma, and master degree in both groups. Most of the participants (63.34%) had two children. The experimental group showed significant decreases in general score of PMS (p<0.01), the ones of depression (p<0.05), and stress (p<0.01) posttests. Conclusion: Training of cognitive-behavioral stress-management is effective on decreasing psychological problems and symptoms of premenstrual syndrome of afflicted women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-discharge intensive care unit (ICU) patients are often left with psychological problems and, while follow-up clinics and patient support groups are the best way to manage these problems, they are difficult to set up in the current economic climate. Staff in the ICU at Royal Gwent Hospital have started using patient diaries to reduce the risk of long-term psychological effects. Diary entries are made by nurses, other multidisciplinary ICU team members, and family members and friends to provide patients with complete narratives and visual records of their time in the unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PROBLEM: Gang violence affects many adolescents in the United States, and there has been an increase in violent crimes against adolescents in recent years. METHOD: A literature review examined studies related to gang violence. FINDINGS: Little research has focused on adolescents' exposure to gang violence and its effects on adolescents' mental health. Adolescents develop internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors after exposure to violence; but other factors influence adolescents' exposure and reaction to violence. CONCLUSION: With the increase in gang violence over the years, more research is needed on gang violence and its effects on adolescents and their mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the psychological problems - sleep quality and psychopathological features - derived from shiftwork including nights and the possible influence of workers' sleep quality on certain psycopathological variables. To do so, a sample of shift workers (n = 197) was compared to a sample of regular schedule workers (n = 40) in the same professional context. Participants answered the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. The results show the poor sleep quality and the high level of psychopathology of shift workers compared to regular schedule workers. The study also proves that subjective sleep quality, daytime dysfunction, sleep latency and sleep disturbances explain 35% of the total variance of the Global Symptom Index. Finally, the results highlight that poor sleep quality is highly relevant in explaining certain psychopathological features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenthood is one of the major transitions in adult life for both men and women, which is associated with major emotional sequels. This study was performed to determine the psychological impact of infertility in healthy infertile (HI) male and their partners compared to spinal cord injured (SCI) male patients and their partners. In this descriptive analytical study 115 subjects who attended for IVF/ICSI program recruited. Thirty-one HI male but twenty of their partners, and 34 SCI male but thirty of their partners agreed to complete the symptoms checklist (SCL-90) and cattle anxiety questionnaires. The Farsi version of these questionnaires were used to evaluate psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, hypochondriasis, obsession, compulsion, aggression, paranoia, and psychotism in relation to patients by cause of infertility, duration of infertility, age, education, and employment of the patients and their partners. The mean age (SD ) of the HI men and their partners were 33.37 (5.98) and 28.3(5.96) years compared to the SCI group which were 31.68 (3.43) and 28.4(4.87) years, respectively. This study showed that the level of anxiety, depression, paranoia, compulsion, and psychotism was higher than normal in our study groups. However, this was not significant within each group ( p > 0.05). In SCI male, the level of depression, hypochondria, and compulsion increased by anxiety was significantly high ( p < 0.05). The employment was associated with decreased phobia ( p < 0.03). In SCI male’s partners the duration of infertility and age significantly increased anxiety ( p < 0.019), hypochondriosis and phobia ( p < 0.033). The higher level of education was associated with greater decrease of psychotism ( p < 0.03). In HI male group the compulsion and psychotism were interrelated significantly by higher level of anxiety ( p < 0.00), and employment was related to lower levels of aggression (0.001). In HI male’s partners, there was a direct relationship between the duration of the infertility with the level of anxiety, depression, hypochondriasis, and obsession ( p < 0.05). The level of compulsion and aggression significantly decreased by education ( p < 0.05). Adequate attention to infertile patients and their partners’ psychological aspects and their treatment with cognitive, behavioral therapies and social supports before IVF/ICSI program is of great importance which may help to improve the quality of life in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experience of 92 couples, who had unsuccessfully undergone one or more IVF cycles at a university clinic, was evaluated 3-8 years following their last failed attempt. One member of each couple completed a telephone questionnaire regarding life events during their last IVF cycle performed at the clinic and at the time of the interview. Some couples had continued further treatment and some had not. Multivariate correspondence analysis was used to analyse the data. Regarding the long-term experience of couples who had undergone further treatment, for men the main experiences were psychological problems and having adopted a child. For women, the main experiences were related to problems of self-image, psychological problems, loss of hope, and having adopted a child. These women also presented a strong association with problems in their marital relationship and with adoption. For the group that did not undergo further treatment, the women showed a strong association with considering adoption, and a less intense association with psychological problems and loss of hope. The men presented psychological problems and having adopted a child as associated variables. Comparison between men and women showed that recognizing the impossibility of conceiving a child and giving up treatment were strongly associated. Men and women who had not continued with further treatment were more affected in the long term than those who had undergone further treatment after IVF failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]