The clinical link between type D personality and diabetes

Introduction: Type D personality consists of a mixture of high levels of negative affectivity and social inhibition, resulting in a stable tendency to experience negative emotions, by inhibiting the expression of these emotions. We have reanalyzed the clinically relevant studies examining the role of this personality profile in diabetes, by providing a qualitative synthesis of the data. In this regard, the aim of this study is to provide a systematic review by evaluating the clinical link between Type D personality and diabetes. Method: When focusing on PRISMA guidelines, we have performed a comprehensive research of the literature on PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, ISI Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar by using search terms as "distressed personality" OR (i.e., Boolean operator) "Type D personality" combined with the Boolean "AND" operator with "diabetes." Results: A total of seven research studies were identified and included in the review. Type D was found to be more prevalent in diabetes patients than controls. As regards the specific association with diabetes variables, Type D personality is a significant predictor of both poor medication adherence and unhealthy behaviors, by predicting negative mental health consequences also (i.e., depressed mood, anhedonia, and anxiety). Conclusion: Our review emphasized for the first time that Type D personality affects clinical factors in patients with diabetes by provoking adverse outcomes. The core implication of the study comprises the clinical relevance to detect, from a clinimetric point of view, Type D personality in diabetes in order to prevent potentially negative clinical outcomes

Psychological stress and cancer.

All the concepts reported in this editorial are based on recent literature data obtained through a PubMed search, using both Medline and manual searches, with particular reference to articles, which could be relevant to clinical practice. This paper contributes to the existing literature on depression and stress and provides important information for the development of effective strategies to manage these conditions among patients with cancer

Clinical Psychology in School and Educational Settings: Emerging Trends

Background: First clinical services in psychology have been established for educational purposes when Witmer founded its Psychological Clinic. Over the years, the educational dimension played a significant role in the development of new evaluation methods and intervention strategies for the pursuit of positive mental health. The present review aims to capture developments that have been considered emerging applications of clinical psychology in school and educational settings. Methods: We conducted a search of the literature on Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science. The following search terms were used and combined: “clinical”, “psychology”, “educational”, and “school”. Results: A total of 18 research articles were included and analyzed in the current review. A number of studies showed that school-based positive psychology interventions were effective not only in reducing symptoms of psychological distress (somatization, depression, and anxiety) but also in increasing levels of positive mental health (a sense of individual growth, self-esteem, self-efficacy and optimism). As to studies on evaluation methods, the WHO-5 and the psychological well-being subscale from the Kellner Symptom Questionnaire were found to be clinically valid self-rating scales for the assessment of positive mental health in children and adolescents. Conclusion: Studies demonstrated that promoting positive mental health is more beneficial in the long term than simply treating symptoms of psychological distress. In clinical psychology, time has come to move from a traditional psychopathology-based perspective to a positive clinical approach to be used for innovative interventions and assessment strategies in school and educational settings

Negative Affectivity Predicts Lower Quality of Life and Metabolic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Introduction: It is essential to consider the clinical assessment of psychological aspects in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM), in order to prevent potentially adverse self-management care behaviors leading to diabetes-related complications, including declining levels of Quality of Life (QoL) and negative metabolic control.Purpose: In the framework of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the specific aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of distressed personality factors as Negative Affectivity (NA) and Social Inhibition (SI) on diabetes-related clinical variables (i.e., QoL and glycemic control).Methods: The total sample consists of a clinical sample, including 159 outpatients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), and a control group composed of 102 healthy respondents. All participants completed the following self- rating scales: The Type D Scale (DS14) and the World Health Organization QoL Scale (WHOQOLBREF). Furthermore, the participants of the clinical group were assessed for HbA1c, disease duration, and BMI. The observed covariates were BMI, gender, and disease duration, while HbA1c was considered an observed variable.Results: SEM analysis revealed significant differences between groups in regards to the latent construct of NA and the Environmental dimension of QoL. For the clinical sample, SEM showed that NA had a negative impact on both QoL dimensions and metabolic control.Conclusions: Clinical interventions aiming to improve medication adherence in patients with T2DM should include the psychological evaluation of Type D Personality traits, by focusing especially on its component of NA as a significant risk factor leading to negative health outcomes

Psychological aspects in the management of patients with essential hypertension

The hypertensive patient is the most stable phenotype in psychosomatic medicine. Hypertensive patients represent a vulnerable population that deserves special attention from health care providers and systems, and psychosomatic medicine may be an important tool in the management of high blood pressure. Depression, anxiety disorders and personality features are often associated with elevated blood pressure (BP) and they may have a role in the development of mild high-renin essential hypertension. Besides, "white coat" hypertension and "masked" hypertension demonstrate how clinic blood pressure could be strongly related to trait anxiety. Hypertension is largely asymptomatic, and patients often have little understanding of the importance of achieving BP control. Medication adverse effects may become an important factor in poor adherence to the treatment and the antidepressant use increases the risk of hypertension. So, the challenge in the management of hypertensive patients is the adherence to non-pharmacological and behavioural treatments for hypertension

Le complesse declinazioni del counseling psicologico-clinico in ambito sanitario

Il presente studio ha l'obiettivo di delineare le complesse potenzialità applicative del counseling psicologico-clinico in ambito sanitario, evidenziando la rilevanza clinica dell'intervento. Il contributo, comprensivo di specifiche definizioni preliminari sia sulle complesse dimensioni epistemico-etimologiche del termine counseling sia sull'innovativo concetto di funzione di counseling, ha la struttura di una rassegna non sistematica della letteratura scientifica finalizzata a riportare e a esaminare i più significativi obiettivi di intervento del counseling psicologico-clinico nei diversi contesti medico-sanitari.This study is aimed at dealing with the complex potential applications of clinical psychological counseling in the healthcare setting by highlighting its clinical relevance. The paper, which includes specific preliminary definitions of both the complex epistemic-etymological dimensions of the word counseling, and the original concept of the function of counseling, consists of a non-systematic review of scientific literature, aimed at reporting and examining the most significant intervention objectives of clinical psychological counseling in various medical and healthcare settings

Quando il problema diventa clinico: dalla gestione dello stress alla psicopatologia nello sport

La valutazione clinimetrica multidimensionale dei fattori eziologici e subsindromici (sotto soglia), in grado di determinare complessi esiti negativi (fisiopatologici, cos. come anche psicopatologici) sull’attività sportiva, possiede una significativa rilevanza clinica, in termini di potenziali ricadute diagnostico-applicative sia rispetto ad attività di promozione della salute (prevenzione primaria-secondaria e terziaria), sia in relazione all’invio e/o attuazione di attività di counseling e psicoterapia (su un piano tanto conservativo-supportivo e di sostegno-supporto, quanto espressivo-trasformativo). Sulla base di una ricerca della letteratura scientifica, realizzata su database internazionali come ISI Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, il presente contributo ha due obiettivi principali: 1) analizzare, da un punto di vista clinimetrico, le principali conseguenze, sia psicosomatiche sia somatopsichiche, legate all’insorgenza di problematiche psicologico-cliniche nello sport (distress e allostatic overload, demoralizzazione, mental pain, meccanismi di somatizzazione); 2) riportare i più significativi correlati psicologici protettivi (wellbeing) associati a un miglioramento della pratica sportiva