The sense of coherence in healthy individuals with psychotic-like experiences

Introduction: Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are subclinical symptoms of psychosis that can be observed in general population. They share many characteristics with psychosis and may, but do not have to, precede the development of psychotic disorders. Sense of coherence (SOC) is a global orientation which helps a person successfully cope with the demands of life, and stay healthy. A SOC level expresses how much a person believes that the world is predictable and coherent, and has been shown to be related to psychological functioning. It consists of the three components: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. The aim of the study was to test the relationship between SOC and PLEs, which has not been tested before. Material and methods: The research comprised the pilot and the main study. The study samples consisted of 82 and 215 adults respectively. Psychiatric disorders or the use of psychoactive substances 3 months prior to the study were the exclusion criteria. SOC and PLEs were measured with self-report questionnaires. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between the study variables. Results: SOC was found to be strongly and negatively correlated with PLEs. Also, SOC was determined to be a non-redundant, negative predictor of psychotic-like experiences. When SOC components (comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness) were tested separately as predictors, meaningfulness was found to be a negative predictor of negative PLEs and a positive predictor of positive PLEs. Conclusions: The results suggest that SOC is an important factor negatively related to PLEs. Further studies are required to verify whether high-level SOC may be a factor preventing the development of PLEs

Depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between the retrospectively measured symptoms of premenstrual disorders and negative but not positive psychotic‑like experiences

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between retrospectively measured premenstrual symptoms and subclinical forms of positive and negative psychotic symptoms (psychotic-like experiences; PLEs). It was hypothesised that subjective intensity of the symptoms of premenstrual disorders predicts PLEs frequency and that this relationship is mediated by anxiety and depression. The study sample comprised 108 non-clinical subjects. Study variables were assessed with self-report questionnaires: the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST); the Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II); the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; trait sub-scale); the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE). Regression and mediation analyses were performed. The PSST scores were significantly and positively associated with psychotic-like experiences frequency. The relation was stronger for positive PLEs. Anxiety and depression partially mediated the relationship between premenstrual symptoms and negative PLEs, but not between premenstrual symptoms and positive PLEs. Although the design of the study does not allow to infer causality, it demonstrates strong, positive relationship between the symptoms of premenstrual disorders and psychotic-like experiences. The relationship between premenstrual disorders and negative PLEs seems to be partially based on a general psychopathological factor. Further longitudinal studies are needed to test whether premenstrual disturbances increase risk of psychotic symptoms

Negative affectivity moderates the relationship between attentional control and focused skin picking

Very little is known about the cognitive functioning of people with body-focused repetitive behaviours and the few existing studies provide mixed findings. The aim of this study was to investigate the interplay between attentional control, negative affectivity, and focused skin picking. We hypothesized that the control of attention is associated with focused style of skin picking and that this relationship is moderated by negative affectivity. The final sample consisted of 273 non-clinical subjects (79% women) aged 18 to 54 years; study variables were assessed using questionnaires. Moderation analysis was conducted, followed by a simple slope analysis, and the Johnson-Neyman technique was used to probe the interaction effect. We found that at the low level of negative affectivity, the relationship between attentional control and focused skin picking is negative, but not at the higher levels of this trait. Interestingly, when negative affectivity reaches very high intensity, the association between attentional control and skin picking becomes positive. This relationship seems to be quite complex and may depend on the way that cognitive abilities are used by the individual, as well as on the stage of cognitive processing that they are applied to. Further studies using behavioural measures of attention are needed to better understand this issue

Validation and psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Skin Picking Scale-Revised

The Skin Picking Scale-Revised (SPS-R) is an 8-item self-report measure of skin picking behaviors. It includes two subscales related to skin picking symptom severity and picking-related impairments. The study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the SPS-R in a sample of adults reporting skin picking. The sample of 764 participants was recruited from the general population through an online survey. Among them, 159 meet the criteria of pathological skin picking applied in the original SPS-R validation study, and 57 endorsed all of the DSM-5 criteria for excoriation disorder. The SPS-R was back-translated into Polish. Factor structure, reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and diagnostic accuracy were assessed. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a two-factor structure of the scale. High internal consistency and convergent and divergent validity were confirmed for the total score as well as for the subscales. High prognostic ability of the SPS-R total score was also demonstrated using ROC analysis: ≥5 was accepted as an optimal cut-off point for distinguishing skin picking sufferers from healthy controls. The Polish version of the SPS-R shows good psychometric properties and appears to be a reliable measure of skin picking symptoms and picking-related impairment

The Influence of Suicide and Assisted Suicide on the Bereavement of Suicide Survivors

Suicide is still one of the most stigmatized types of death, arousing controversy. There exists its special type: assisted suicide in which a one kills themselves with the help of another person. It is very interesting to compare the psychological consequences of these two forms of death for the suicide survivors – that is, the relatives of the ones who took their own lives. While there are many similarities between suicide and assisted suicide, certain "technical differences" between them can significantly affect the later functioning of the survivors. In the case of "ordinary" suicide, we distinguish factors that make it difficult to survive bereavement, while assisted suicide may sometimes also have a facilitating effect on this process. The literature review shows that suicide survivors experience a higher sense of guilt (exacerbated by sometimes felt relief), anger, abandonment and responsibility, and lower support and acceptance than the relatives of other deceased. Interestingly, they do not necessarily suffer from mental disorders more often, but they are more stigmatized and feel the need to hide the circumstances of their loved ones’ death. People left after the assisted suicide also sometimes experience emotions such as relief and a sense of abandonment, they tend to distance themselves from others and hide the truth about the death of their loved ones (in this case also because of the fear of legal consequences). The most significant differences, important for the later experience of bereavement, are the possibility of saying goodbye, as well as the belief that they provided their loved ones the "good death". These factors make it much easier to mourn, reduce the traumatic experience of grief. However, there are other factors potentially complicating bereavement – research shows that assisting in suicide correlates with certain mental disorders. This may be, for example, because of ethical doubts that this practice raises, conflict with the value system, potential remorse, alienation from the community after condemning such an act, fear of legal consequences and doubts if assisting in a suicide was a right decision

Sense of Coherence as a Buffering Factor for the Development of Psychotic-Like Experiences in Trauma Survivors

Doświadczenia podobne do psychotycznych (psychotic-like experiences, PLEs) to subkliniczne formy pozytywnych i negatywnych objawów psychozy. Nie zawsze przekształcają się w jej pełnoobjawową formę, ale stanowią czynnik ryzyka rozwoju wielu zaburzeń psychicznych. Dowiedziono również, że przeżycie traumy zwiększa ryzyko rozwoju psychopatologii, w tym doświadczeń podobnych do psychotycznych. Poczucie koherencji (sense of coherence, SOC) wyraża stopień, w jakim osoba postrzega bodźce napływające z jej zewnętrznego i wewnętrznego środowiska jako spójne i zrozumiałe, a siebie jako posiadającą zasoby, by sobie z nimi radzić. Poczucie koherencji wiąże się zarówno ze zdrowiem somatycznym, jak i psychicznym, lepszym funkcjonowaniem i odpornością psychiczną. Celem badania było sprawdzenie, czy poczucie koherencji może być czynnikiem chroniącym przed rozwojem PLEs u osób po przeżytej traumie. Założono, że trauma i PLEs będą związane ze sobą pozytywnie, natomiast SOC będzie negatywnie związany zarówno z traumą, jak i doświadczeniami podobnymi do psychotycznych, a także będzie moderatorem relacji pomiędzy nimi. Przeprowadzono analizy korelacji, regresji i moderacji. Hipotezy potwierdziły się tylko częściowo. Związki traumy z PLEs były zgodne z zakładanymi, natomiast poczucia koherencji z PLEs – słabsze od zakładanych. Nie potwierdziła się także hipoteza o moderującej roli poczucia koherencji. Omówiono potencjalne wyjaśnienia tych niezgodnych z przewidywaniami wyników. Konieczne jest poszukiwanie innych zmiennych buforujących związek traumy z psychopatologią.Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are subclinical forms of the symptoms of psychosis, constituting a risk factor for many mental disorders. Trauma was shown to increase the probability of developing psychopathology, including PLEs. Sense of coherence (SOC) expresses if a person perceives stimuli as coherent and understandable. SOC was shown to be strongly related to both somatic and mental health. The aim of the study was to test if SOC weakens the relationship between trauma and PLEs. It was assumed that trauma and PLEs will be positively related, while SOC will be negatively related to both trauma and PLEs, and will moderate the relationship between them. Correlation, regression and moderation analyses were performed. The hypotheses were only partially confirmed. The relationships between trauma and PLEs were as assumed, while between sense of coherence and PLEs – weaker than assumed. The moderation hypothesis was not confirmed. Potential explanations for these results were discussed. It is necessary to look for other variables buffering the relationship between trauma and psychopathology

Dissociative experiences mediate the relationship between traumatic life events and types of skin picking : findings from non-clinical sample

Aim: Skin-picking (excoriation) disorder is considered as a form of maladaptive coping methods used by individuals who have difficulties in applying more adaptive strategies. Skin-picking development has been suggested to be preceded by traumatic life events. Dissociative symptoms have been reported as experienced by skin-picking sufferers during picking episodes. The purpose of the study was to examine whether the link between trauma and automatic type of skin-picking is mediated by the frequency of dissociative experiences, and whether the COVID-19 pandemic conditions have changed this relationship in any way. Methods: The study sample consisted of 594 adults (76% women) aged from 18 to 60. Traumatic life events, dissociative experiences, and types of skin-picking (focused vs. automatic) were assessed with self-report questionnaires. Mediation analyses and multigroup path analyses were carried out. Results: Dissociative experiences partially mediated the link between traumatic events and both types of skin-picking. The model was robust considering the conditions in which survey was filled out (pre-pandemic vs. pandemic). Conclusions: Traumatic life events and dissociative experiences are associated with both automatic and focused skin-picking regardless of pandemic conditions. Further studies are needed to understand mechanisms underlying the relationship between dissociation and skin-picking styles