Book review

Fred Penzel: The hair-pulling problem. A complete guide to trichotillomania. Oxford University Press, 2003. XXX + 351 pp. ISBN 0-19-514942-

Book Reviews

Wolfgang Stroebe: Dieting, overweight, and obesity. Self-regulation in a food-rich environment. American Psychological Association, 2008, xii+275 pp. ISBN 0-4338-0335-6 ; Eric Hollander, Joseph Zohar, Paul J. Sirovatka and Darrel A. Regier (Eds.) Obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorders. Refining the research agenda for DSM-V American Psychiatric Association, Arlington, Virginia, 2011, XXIV + 233 pp. ISBN 978-0-89042-659-

Book reviews

Nancy M. Petry Pathological gambling: Etiology, comorbidity, and treatment American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 2006, x + 417 pp. ISBN 1-59147-173-7 | Marvin Zuckerman Sensation seeking and risky behavior American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 2008, xix+309 pp. ISBN 1-59147-738-

Mentálhigiénés kutatás brit módra = The British system of mental health research governance

A szerzők tanulmányukban bemutatják a brit mentálhigiénés kutatás támogatási és pályázati rendszer elmúlt években történt jelentős átalakításának főbb eredményeit. Röviden bemutatják az engedélyeztetési eljárás folyamatát, beleértve az etikai engedélyek megszerzésének menetét is. Rövid nemzetközi kitekintést követően, a szerzők kitérnek az újonnan kialakított rendszerrel szerzett kezdeti tapasztalatokra, a szisztéma előnyeire és hátrányaira. | The authors introduce the recent changes in the British system of grant application and gaining permission for mental health research delivery. They briefly present the process of central and local NHS trust approval including ethics application. Following a brief international outlook, early experiences, advantages and disadvantages of the new British research governance framework are also summarised

Book Reviews

Elias Aboujaoude and Lorrin M. Koran (Eds.: Impulse control disorders. Cambridge University Press, New York, USA, 2010, 324 pp., 111 USD (hardback) ISBN 978-0-521-89870-6 ; Nancy E. Willard: Cyber-safe kids, cyber-savvy teens. Helping young people learn to use the Internet safely and responsibly. Jossay-Bass, Wiley imprint, San Francisco, CA, 2007, 324 pp. ISBN 978-0-7879-9417-

The diagnostic pitfalls of surveys: if you score positive on a test of addiction, you still have a good chance not to be addicted. A response to Billieux et al. 2015

Background and aims: Survey-based studies often fail to take into account the predictive value of a test, in other words the probability of a person having (or not having) the disease when scoring positive (or negative) on the given screening test. Methods: We re-visited the theory and basic calculations of diagnostic accuracy. Results: In generally, the lower the prevalence the worse the predictive value is. When the disorder is relatively rare, a positive test finding is typically not useful in confirming its presence given the high proportion of false positive cases. For example, using the Compulsive Buying Scale (Faber & O'Guinn, 1992) three in four people classified as having compulsive buying disorder will in fact not have the disorder. Conclusions: Screening tests are limited to serve as an early detection “gate” and only clinical (interview-based) studies are suitable to claim that a certain behaviour is truly “pathological”

Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview Study on Personal Experiences of People with Multiple Selves

Background and aims: Personality psychology research relies on the notion that humans have a single self that is the result of the individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours that can be reliably described (i.e., through traits). People who identify themselves as “multiple” have a system of multiple, or alternative, selves that share the same physical body. This is the first study to explore the phenomenon of multiplicity by assessing the experiences of people who identify themselves as “multiple”. Methods: First, an Internet forum search was performed using the terms “multiplicity” and “multiple system”. Based on that search, people who identified themselves as multiple were contacted. Interviews were conducted by a consultant psychiatrist, which produced six case vignettes. Results: Multiplicity is discussed on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and several other personal websites, blogs and forums maintained by multiples. According to the study’s estimates, there are 200–300 individuals who participate in these forums and believe they are multiple. Based on the six interviews, it appears that multiples have several selves who are relatively independent of each other and constitute the personality’s system. Each “resident person”, or self, has their own unique behavioural pattern, which is triggered by different situations. However, multiples are a heterogeneous group in terms of their system organisation, memory functions and control over switching between selves. Conclusions: Multiplicity can be placed along a continuum between identity disturbance and dissociative identity disorder, although most systems function relatively well in everyday life. Further research is needed to explore this phenomenon, especially in terms of the extent to which multiplicity can be regarded as a healthy way of coping