Το συναίσθημα του θυμού: Βασικές διαστάσεις και η διαφοροποίησή τους κατά τη διά βίου ανάπτυξη και τη μείωση της μελλοντικής χρονικής προοπτικής

Older adult’s shift of interest towards emotional wellbeing has been sufficiently evidenced by recent research. However, there has not been any respective research as regards the effects of this tendency of older adult on the experience of the discrete emotion of anger. The aim of the present review is to fill this gap, via the presentation of the most recent empirical data and some of the new theoretical approaches of emotional aging. Special emphasis is given on the socio-emotional selectivity theory suggesting that, with advancing age, a person’s emotional life is optimized, due to the decrease of future time perspective and the subsequent reconsideration of life goals because of limited time perspective. In the light of this theory, the changes that take place during lifespan development and aging as regards the emotion of anger will be studied in depth. Moreover, new research questions and new avenues for research will be formulated, in order for the existing body of knowledge to be enriched and for its functional significance to be enhanced.H στροφή του ενδιαφέροντος του ηλικιωμένου ατόμου προς τη συναισθηματική ευζωία είναι επαρκώς διαπιστωμένη από τη σύγχρονη έρευνα. Ωστόσο, δεν υπάρχει ανάλογη έρευνα για το πώς επηρεάζει η τάση αυτή του ηλικιωμένου την εμπειρία του διακριτού συναισθήματος του θυμού. Στόχος της παρούσας ανασκόπησης είναι να απαντήσει στο ερώτημα αυτό, παρουσιάζοντας τα πιο πρόσφατα ερευνητικά δεδομένα και μερικές από τις νέες θεωρητικές προσεγγίσεις για το συναισθηματικό γήρας. Ιδιαίτερο βάρος δίνεται στη θεωρία της κοινωνικο-συναισθηματικής επιλεκτικότητας, η οποία υποστηρίζει ότι, με την πρόοδο της ηλικίας, βελτιστοποιείται η συναισθηματική ζωή του ατόμου, λόγω της μείωσης της χρονικής του προοπτικής και της αναθεώρησης των προσωπικών στόχων που αυτή η μείωση προκαλεί. Υπό το πρίσμα της θεωρίας αυτής, θα διαφωτιστούν οι αλλαγές που συμβαίνουν στο συναίσθημα του θυμού κατά τη διά βίου ανάπτυξη και το γήρας. Επίσης, θα τεθούν νέα ερωτήματα και θα διαμορφωθούν  προτάσεις για μελλοντική έρευνα, με στόχο να εμπλουτιστεί η υπάρχουσα γνώση και να αυξηθεί η χρηστική της σημασία

PROMOTING SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING THROUGH A KINDNESS INTERVENTION

The present study aimed to examine the effects of the character strength of kindness on subjective wellbeing. It was conducted through an online free forum, which was constructed for the present study. The participants (N = 54) were 34 women and 20 men, aged 18-55 years old. They were divided into two groups, an experimental and a control group, matched in age and gender. Participants in the ‘counting kindness’ intervention were asked to keep track of their kind actions every day for a week and write them on the forum along with their feelings and thoughts on those actions. Participants in the control group were asked to write their daily routine also every day for a week. Participants were also asked to complete questionnaires measuring subjective wellbeing before the intervention, a month after, and two months after the intervention (follow-up measurement). The results showed that subjective wellbeing as an overall sense of wellbeing and its specific components was enhanced for participants in the kindness intervention. Possible mechanisms for the effectiveness of the intervention are discussed

COGNITIVE SCREENING TESTS FOR PATIENTS WITH EPILEPSY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW FOCUSING ON TEST VALIDITY AND DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY

Epilepsy often affects cognition. The goal of this review was to systematically examine evidence for the validity of cognitive screening tests currently being used in epilepsy. MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched from 1946/1947 until the 12th of March 2019. Only studies that met the eligibility criteria and which reported at least some diagnostic accuracy data were included. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria, relating to five screening tools. The EpiTrack was the most commonly used tool, while the test most frequently used as a reference standard was the Digit Span. Diagnostic accuracy of cognitive screening tools in epilepsy remains limited and the risk of bias is generally high. EpiTrack is suggested as the appropriate screening tool to begin the assessment with, as it is specifically constructed for and validated on patients with epilepsy, it provides specific cutoff points and a satisfactory level of reliability

Examining the relationships between bilingualism and cognitive abilities in older adults: a pilot study

Ένας από τους παράγοντες που θεωρούνται ευεργετικοί για το γνωστικό απόθεμα των ηλικιωμένων στην υπάρχουσα βιβλιογραφία είναι η διγλωσσία. Ειδικότερα, η διγλωσσία, κατά τη γήρανση, έχει συσχετιστεί με καλά διατηρημένες εκτελεστικές λειτουργίες, αλλά με επιδόσεις λεκτικής επεξεργασίας χαμηλότερου επιπέδου, σε σύγκριση με τη μονογλωσσία. Η πρώτη υπόθεση της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν ότι οι δίγλωσσοι ηλικιωμένοι θα εμφανίζουν υψηλότερη βαθμολογία σε έργο μέτρησης γνωστικών ικανοτήτων ανώτερης τάξης. Υπήρχε η υπόθεση, αντιθέτως, ότι οι μονόγλωσσοι ηλικιωμένοι θα υπερτερούσαν των δίγλωσσων σε δοκιμασία που μετρά τη γενική γνωστική ικανότητα, τουλάχιστον όσον αφορά σε υποσυνθήκες της δοκιμασίας που απαιτούν λεκτική επεξεργασία. Οι συμμετέχοντες χωρίστηκαν σε μια ομάδα με 10 δίγλωσσους ηλικιωμένους, ομιλούντες την ελληνική γλώσσα και μια άλλη γλώσσα, και σε μια δεύτερη ομάδα με 10 μονόγλωσσους ηλικιωμένους, ομιλούντες την ελληνική γλώσσα. Οι ομάδες ήταν εξισωμένες ως προς την ηλικία, το εκπαιδευτικό επίπεδο και το φύλο. Η εκτελεστική λειτουργία εξετάστηκε μέσω ενός  οπτικοχωρικού έργου που μετρά το μακροπρόθεσμο σχεδιασμό. Χορηγήθηκε, επίσης, σύντομη δοκιμασία που μετρά τη γενική γνωστική ικανότητα σε ηλικιωμένους. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι οι δίγλωσσοι έχουν την τάση να εμφανίζουν υψηλότερη επίδοση ως προς τις εκτελεστικές λειτουργίες. Ωστόσο, σε σχέση με τη γενική γνωστική ικανότητα, οι μονόγλωσσοι ηλικιωμένοι έχουν σημαντικά υψηλότερη επίδοση. Ως εκ τούτου, το πλεονέκτημα των δίγλωσσων όσον αφορά τη διατήρηση εκτελεστικών λειτουργιών στη γήρανση δεν υποστηρίχθηκε σαφώς. Από την άλλη πλευρά, αναδύθηκε και συζητήθηκε ένα μειονέκτημα της γενικής γνωστικής τους ικανότητας, σε σύγκριση με τους μονόγλωσσους, που εν μέρει οφείλεται σε ελλείμματα στις λεκτικές διεργασίες.One of the factors that are considered beneficial for the cognitive reserve of older adults in the current literature is bilingualism. Specifically, bilingualism has been associated with well-preserved executive functions in aging but a lower-level lexical processing performance, as compared to monolingualism. The first hypothesis of the present study was that bilingual older adults would display higher score in a task measuring higher-order cognitive abilities. On the other hand, it was assumed that monolingual older adults would outperform bilinguals in a test measuring general cognitive ability at least as regards subtests that require lexical processing. The participants were divided into an older adult group of 10 bilingual speakers of Greek language and of another language, and a second older adult group of 10 monolingual speakers of Greek language, matched in age, educational level and gender. Executive functioning was examined via a task measuring long-term spatial planning. A short test of general cognitive ability was also administered. The results showed that bilinguals tended to display higher performance as regards executive functioning. However, in relation to general cognitive ability, monolingual older adults had significantly higher performance. Hence, the bilinguals’ advantage as regards the maintenance of executive functions in aging was not clearly supported. On the other hand, a disadvantage in general cognitive ability probably due to deficits in lexical processing, as compared to monolinguals emerged and was further discussed

THE REALTIONSHIPS BETWEEN GRATITUDE, FORGIVENESS, HOPE, AND SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Η προληπτική απομόνωση λόγω COVID-19 αποτελεί συνθήκη που επιβάλλεται για λόγους δημόσιας υγείας. Ο ρόλος των δυνατών στοιχείων του χαρακτήρα σε μία τέτοια συνθήκη δεν έχει σχεδόν καθόλου ερευνηθεί. Στόχος της μελέτης ήταν να εξετάσει τη σχέση της ευγνωμοσύνης, της συγχώρεσης και της ελπίδας ως δυνατών στοιχείων του χαρακτήρα, με την υποκειμενική ευζωία ως ικανοποίηση από τη ζωή και το θυμικό (θετικό κι αρνητικό), σε περίοδο προληπτικής απομόνωσης. Aναμενόταν ότι όσοι διαθέτουν υψηλά επίπεδα αυτών των τριών δυνατών στοιχείων χαρακτήρα, θα παρουσίαζαν αυξημένο το αίσθημα της υποκειμενικής ευζωίας και στην περίοδο της προληπτικής απομόνωσης. Το δείγμα της έρευνας αποτέλεσαν 250 ενήλικες, ηλικίας 19 - 75 ετών, στους οποίους χορηγήθηκαν, διαδικτυακά, ερωτηματολόγια αυτο-αναφοράς. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι η ελπίδα συνδέεται με την ικανοποίηση από τη ζωή και με το θετικό και αρνητικό θυμικό, η συναισθηματική συγχώρεση συσχετίζεται αρνητικά με τη βίωση αρνητικών συναισθημάτων, και η ευγνωμοσύνη συνδέεται θετικά με την ικανοποίηση από τη ζωή.Lockdown due to COVID-19 is a condition imposed for public health reasons. The role of character strengths in such a condition has hardly been investigated. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between gratitude, forgiveness, and hope, as character strengths, with subjective wellbeing in the form of life satisfaction and affect (positive and negative) in a lockdown context. It was predicted that those who have high levels of the character strengths, would show an increased sense of subjective wellbeing in this condition. The sample of the study consisted of 250 adults, aged 19-75 years, who were administered online self-report questionnaires. The results showed that hope was associated with all three dimensions of subjective wellbeing, emotional forgiveness was negatively related to the experience of negative emotions, and gratitude was positively related to life satisfaction.

The cognitive and behavioral correlates of functional status in patients with frontotemporal dementia: A pilot study

Objective: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) impinges significantly on cognition, behavior, and everyday functioning. Goal of the present study is the detailed description of behavioral disturbances and functional limitations, as well as the investigation of associations between cognition, behavior, and functional impairment among FTD patients. Given the importance of maintaining a satisfying functional status as long as possible, this study also aims to identify the cognitive correlates of compensatory strategy use in this clinical group.Methods: A total of 13 patients diagnosed with FTD (behavioral variant FTD = 9, non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia = 3, semantic dementia = 1) were administrated a broad range of neuropsychological tests for the assessment of different cognitive abilities. Behavioral symptomatology and performance on everyday activities were rated with informant-based measures. Descriptive statistics were used for the delineation of behavioral and functional patterns, whereas stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to identify associations between cognition, behavior, and functional status.Results: Negative symptoms, especially apathy, were found to predominate in the behavior of FTD patients. Instrumental tasks, such as housework and leisure activities, appeared to be the most impaired functional domains. Working memory was the strongest cognitive correlate of performance across various domains of everyday functioning, whereas working memory along with short-term verbal memory accounted for a great proportion of variance in compensatory strategy use. Behavioral disturbances and especially negative symptoms were also found to contribute significantly to functional impairment in FTD.Conclusions: Executive dysfunction, as well as behavioral disturbances contribute significantly to functional disability in FTD. Early interventions tailored at these domains may have the potential to improve functional outcomes and delay the rate of functional decline among FTD patients

Ψυχομετρικές ιδιότητες της ελληνικής εκδοχής του Ερωτηματολογίου Προσανατολισμών στην Αντιμετώπιση Προβλημάτων

Τhe aim of the present study was the test of the factor structure of the Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced - COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, Weintraub, 1989) and some parameters of measurement and structural invariance of the COPE across the two levels of gender. The total sample consisted of 481 students, 213 men and 268 women. Participants were asked to respond to the COPE Inventory, which was developed to assesss the different ways – strategies in which people respond to stress. The test of the factor structure of the Greek version of the COPE Inventory was performed through the application of confirmatory factor analysis, which confirmed a structure of eleven (11), first order factors that were almost identical with eleven (11) of the thirteen (13) factors proposed by Carver et al (1989). When gender was added to the structural model as covariate, it was found that female students use more than male ones coping strategies such as “seeking of emotional support”, “focusing on and venting of emotions”, and  “seeking of instrumental social support”. Στόχος της παρούσας εργασίας ήταν ο έλεγχος της παραγοντικής δομής του Ερωτηματολογίου Προσανατολισμών στην Αντιμετώπιση Προβλημάτων (Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced - COPE, Carver, Scheier, Weintraub, 1989) και ορισμένων παραμέτρων μετρικής και δομικής ισοδυναμίας του δομικού μοντέλου ως προς τα δυο επίπεδα του φύλου, ως συνδιακυμαινόμενης μεταβλητής. Το συνολικό δείγμα αποτέλεσαν 481 φοιτητές, 213 άνδρες και 268 γυναίκες. Οι συμμετέχοντες κλήθηκαν να απαντήσουν στο Ερωτηματολόγιο COPE, το οποίο κατασκευάστηκε για να εκτιμήσει τους διαφορετικούς τρόπους - στρατηγικές με τους οποίους οι άνθρωποι αντιδρούν στο στρες. Ο έλεγχος της παραγοντικής δομής της ελληνικής εκδοχής του COPE έγινε μέσω της εφαρμογής επιβεβαιωτικής ανάλυσης παραγόντων, που επιβεβαίωσε δομή ένδεκα (11) παραγόντων πρώτης τάξης, οι οποίοι ήταν σχεδόν ταυτόσημοι με τους ένδεκα (11) από τους δεκατρείς (13) παράγοντες που προτείνονται από τους Carver και συν. (1989). Όταν το φύλο προστέθηκε στο δομικό μοντέλο ως συνδιακυμαινόμενη μεταβλητή, διαπιστώθηκε ότι οι γυναίκες - φοιτήτριες χρησιμοποιούν περισσότερο από τους άνδρες - φοιτητές στρατηγικές αντιμετώπισης εστιασμένες στο συναίσθημα, όπως η αναζήτηση συναισθηματικής στήριξης, η επικέντρωση στα συναισθήματα και στην εκτόνωσή τους, και η αναζήτηση συντελεστικής κοινωνικής υποστήριξης

Decoding of basic emotions from dynamic visual displays in dementia: a sign of loss of positivity bias in emotional processing in cognitively unhealthy aging?

Difficulties in recognizing emotional signals might have serious implications for social interactions. Neurodegenerative diseases that affect neural networks involved in emotional displays processing might thus be connected with a disproportionate impairment in social life. This study aimed at examining the ability to decode basic emotions from dynamic visual displays in mild to moderate dementia. Thirty old adults diagnosed as demented, and 30 gender-matched healthy controls were administered a measure of emotion evaluation. The groups did not differ significantly in age and educational level. The emotion evaluation test was designed to examine a person’s ability to visually identify basic emotions and discriminate these from neutral expressions, when they were expressed as dynamic, subtle, day-to-day expressions. Results showed that demented participants had a great difficulty in recognizing the positively valenced emotions of happiness and pleasant surprise, while sadness, anger, and anxiety were the easiest emotions to recognize. Healthy controls were almost excellent on happiness recognition, while discrimination of non-emotional displays was the most difficult condition often mislabeled as anxiety or pleasant surprise. Results were mainly discussed in terms of socio-emotional selectivity theory positing that only older adults capable of exerting cognitive controlled favor emotional over non-emotional and positive over negative information

Inhibitory Control, Task/Rule Switching, and Cognitive Planning in Vascular Dementia: Are There Any Differences From Vascular Aging?

Recent studies have shown that patients diagnosed with Vascular Dementia (VaD) exhibit deficits in executive functions. According to “vascular hypothesis of cognitive aging,” community-dwelling older adults having risk factors for vascular disease development (RVD) may suffer from cognitive decline of the same type. The aim of the study was to assess the level of specific executive functions (EF) that have been revealed as most affected by vascular abnormalities, in older adults with incipient VaD and RVD. Subsequently specific ways of EF measuring could be suggested for more accurate diagnosis of early stage VaD. The study compared three adult groups (N = 60): (a) patients diagnosed with incipient VaD, according to DSM-5 criteria (n = 20); (b) community-dwelling older adults presenting cardiovascular risk factors (RVD; n = 20); (c) healthy young adult controls (n = 20). Three types of executive functions were examined: inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility as rule/task switching, and planning. The following D-KEFS subtests were administered for their evaluation: The ‘Color-Word Interference Test,’ the ‘Verbal Fluency Test,’ and the ‘Tower Test.’ Mixed-measures ANOVA, MANOVA, and one-way ANOVA as well as Scheffe post hoc test were applied to the data of the scores in each condition of each test. The results showed that VaD patients had significantly lower performance in test conditions requiring switching and planning, compared to RVD group and young controls. The specific deficits of VaD patients, compared to older adults presenting RVD according to multiple-group path analyses were: more uncorrected errors in inhibition, the use of semantic knowledge primarily instead of switching ability to switch between semantic categories, as well as a lower level of movement precision in planning