Type D Personality, Temperament, and Mental Health in Military Personnel Awaiting Deployment

Type D personality, temperament, and mental health in military personnel awaitin

Correlates of self-reported offending in children with a first police contact from distinct socio-demographic and ethnic groups

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aims to identify risk factors for level of offending among childhood offenders from different socio-economic status (SES) neighborhoods and ethnic origins.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Three groups of childhood first time police arrestees were studied using standardized instruments for individual and parental characteristics: native Dutch offenders from moderate to high SES neighborhoods, native Dutch offenders from low SES neighborhoods, and offenders of non-Western origin from low SES neighborhoods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All subgroups showed high rates of externalizing disorders (27.2% to 41.8%) and familial difficulties (25.7% to 50.5%). Few differences between neighborhoods were found in the prevalence and impact of risk factors. However, the impact of some family risk factors on offending seemed stronger in the low SES groups. Regarding ethnical differences, family risk factors were more prevalent among non-Western childhood offenders. However, the association of these factors with level of offending seemed lower in the non-Western low SES group, while the association of some individual risk factors were stronger in the non-Western low SES group. Turning to the independent correlation of risk factors within each of the groups, in the Dutch moderate to high SES group, 23.1% of the variance in level of offending was explained by ADHD and behavioral problems; in the Dutch low SES group, 29.0% of the variance was explained by behavioral problems and proactive aggression; and in the non-Western low SES group, 41.2% of the variance was explained by substance use, sensation seeking, behavioral peer problems, and parental mental health problems.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Thereby, the study indicates few neighborhood differences in the impact of individual and parental risk factors on offending, while individual and parental risk factors may differ between ethnic groups.</p

Health and health care utilisation among asylum seekers and refugees in the Netherlands: design of a study

BACKGROUND: This article discusses the design of a study on the prevalence of health problems (both physical and mental) and the utilisation of health care services among asylum seekers and refugees in the Netherlands, including factors that may be related to their health and their utilisation of these services. METHODS/DESIGN: The study will include random samples of adult asylum seekers and refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Somali (total planned sample of 600), as these are among the largest groups within the reception centres and municipalities in the Netherlands. The questionnaire that will be used will include questions on physical health (chronic and acute diseases and somatization), mental health (Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25 and Harvard Trauma Questionnaire), utilisation of health care services, pre- and post-migratory traumatic experiences, life-style, acculturation, social support and socio-demographic background. The questionnaire has gone through a translation process (translation and back-translation, several checks and a pilot-study) and cross-cultural adaptation. Respondents will be interviewed by bilingual and bicultural interviewers who will be specifically trained for this purpose. This article discusses the selection of the study population, the chosen outcome measures, the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the measurement instrument, the training of the interviewers and the practical execution of the study. The information provided may be useful for other researchers in this relatively new field of epidemiological research among various groups of asylum seekers and refugees

A cross-cultural test of the cognitive theory of obsessions and compulsions: A comparison of Greek, Italian, and American individuals - a preliminary study

A widely-held theory is that obsessions arise from the misinterpretation of normal intrusive thoughts (e.g., misinterpreting unwanted harm-related thoughts as a sign that one is going to act on them). This leads the person to perform compulsions such as repeated checking. Misinterpretations are said to arise from various types of beliefs (e.g., the belief that thoughts inevitably give rise to actions). In support of this theory, some studies have shown that such beliefs are correlated with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. We investigated whether the theory can be extended to conditions in which cultural differences are taken in consideration. Measures of OC beliefs and symptoms were completed by participants in Greece (n = 46) and Italy (n = 348) and, for comparison purposes, the US (n = 73). Beliefs were correlated with symptoms in all three groups. There were significant, albeit modest, cross-cultural effects. In particular, the relation between beliefs and cleaning and checking compulsions tended to be low in Greek participants, compared to Italian and US counterparts. Although the results generally support the cognitive model, some culture-specific modifications may be required, possibly by including variables that moderate or attenuate the correlations between OC symptoms and putatively related beliefs

Is a combined therapy more effective than either CBT or SSRI alone? Results of a multicenter trial on panic disorder with or without agoraphobia

Objective: To establish whether the combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy (SSRI) was more effective in treating panic disorder (PD) than either CBT or SSRI alone, and to evaluate any differential effects between the monotreatments. Method: Patients with PD (n = 150) with or without agoraphobia received CBT, SSRI or CBT + SSRI. Outcome was assessed after 9 months, before medication taper. Results: CBT + SSRI was clearly superior to CBT in both completer and intent-to-treat analysis (ITT). Completer analysis revealed superiority of CBT + SSRI over SSRI on three measures and no differences between CBT and SSRI. ITT analysis revealed superiority of SSRI over CBT on four measures and no differences between CBT + SSRI and SSRI. Conclusion: Both the mono-treatments (CBT and SSRI) and the combined treatment (CBT + SSRI) proved to be effective treatments for PD. At post-test, CBT + SSRI was clearly superior to CBT, but differences between CBT + SSRI and SSRI, and between SSRI and CBT, were small