2000 Families: identifying the research potential of an origins - of migration study

Despite extensive recent advances in the empirical and theoretical study of migration, certain critical areas in the analysis of European migration remain relatively underdeveloped both theoretically and empirically. Specifically, we lack studies that both incorporate an origin comparison and trace processes of intergenerational transmission across migrants over multiple generations and incorporating family migration trajectories. This paper outlines the development, data and design of such a study, the 2000 Families study, framed within a theoretical perspective of ?dissimilation? from origins and over generations. We term the study an origins-of-migration study, in that it captures the country of origin, the family origins and potentially the originating causes of migration processes and outcomes. The resulting data comprised nearly 2,000 migrant and non-migrant Turkish families with members across three or more generations, covering. 50,000 individuals. We reflect on the potential of this study for migration research

The social gradient in cultural consumption and the information-processing hypothesis

Patterns of cultural consumption have a strong social gradient which is primarily driven by education, but what explains these educational differences in cultural preferences remains unclear. Explanations based on information processing capacity have gained widespread currency; the perceived cognitive ‘difficulty’ of both appreciating high culture, and of maintaining broad, omnivorous tastes. If, on average, high culture is more complex than low culture then a higher level of information processing capacity may be required to derive enjoyment from it. In contrast, socialization theories suggest that exposure to ‘high’ culture, may explain this gradient, particularly among university graduates with degrees in the Arts or Humanities. To test these two theories we use the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion survey (n = 1,079) and estimate the association between degree type and measures of cultural preference and consumption, including: film directors, artists, and cultural participation. Compared to non-graduates, arts, humanities, and social science graduates are more likely to enjoy highbrow directors and artists, and are more likely to be cultural omnivores; while graduates from other subjects are not clearly distinct from non-graduates in their cultural preferences. These findings suggest that information processing plays a minor role in shaping the social gradient in cultural consumption

Sexual dysfunction in outpatients with schizophrenia in Turkey: a cross-sectional study

Background: Sexual dysfunction is one of several factors related to medication compliance in patients taking antipsychotic medication but the magnitude of this problem is unknown. Aim: Compare the self-reported sexual functioning of clinically stable patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotic medication to that of healthy controls using the Turkish version of the 5-item Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX). This scale, which has previously been validated in Turkey, assesses 5 components of sexual function: sex drive, sexual arousal, vaginal lubrication/penile erection, ability to achieve orgasm, and satisfaction with orgasm. Methods: The Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms, and ASEX were administered to 101 clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia (38 females and 63 males). The ASEX was also administered to 89 control subjects (41 females and 48 males) without a history of mental illness. Respondents were classified as having sexual dysfunction if ASEX total score (range 5-30) >18, if any ASEX item score (range 1-6) ? 5, or if 3 or more ASEX items ?4. Results: Male patients with schizophrenia have significantly more self-reported sexual dysfunction than healthy controls (46% vs. 8%). The prevalence of sexual dysfunction is higher in female patients than in male patients (68% vs. 46%), but it was also very high in healthy female controls (68%), so the sexual dysfunction of female patients cannot be attributed to their illness or to the medications they are taking. Within the patient group, there was no significant relationship between the severity of positive or negative symptoms and the severity of sexual dysfunction, and the severity of sexual function was not different between patients taking first-generation or second-generation antipsychotic medications. Conclusions: The very different findings by gender in Turkey highlights the importance of assessing location- specific and gender-specific sexual norms when trying to assess the role of mental illness and medications on sexual functioning. Prospective studies are needed to distinguish the relative importance of cultural norms, the schizophrenic illness, and the use of antipsychotic medication in the etiology and course of sexual dysfunction among individuals with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2014 by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Publishing

The evaluation of headache in patients with schizophrenia: A case-control study

The evaluation of headache in patients with schizophrenia: a case-control study Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the frequency and the types of headache in patients with schizophrenia and to compare it with the healthy control group. Method: A hundred and one patients and eighty nine healthy subjects were included in this case-control study. Socio-demographic data form, structured clinical interview for DSM disorders type 1 (SCID-1), Scale for the Assessment of the Negative Symptoms (SANS) and of the Positive Symptoms (SAPS) were applied. The subjects with headache were consulted to the neurology clinic. Results: The prevalence of headache in the patient group was 38.6% whereas the prevalence of headache in the control group was 37.1%. Tension type headache (TTH) was the most prominent type in both group (31.7% of patients, 18.0% of controls) and the presence of TTH in patients with schizophrenia was found statistically significant. Migraine type headache was detected in 2.0% of patients and 11.2% of controls. The ratio of headache was lesser in patients than in the controls. Conclusion: Schizophrenic patients have headache as much as the healthy subjects but they complain less about their headache than the controls do. Further studies with larger samples in patients with schizophrenia would present the importance of the issue and improve the quality of life in patients with schizophrenia contributing the analgesia

Increased pulse wave velocity in patients with panic disorder: Independent vascular influence of panic disorder on arterial stiffness

PubMed: 22789419Objective: Acute and chronic mental stress and many psychiatric disorders have been accepted as a cause of cardiovascular disease. Panic disorder, a subtype of anxiety disorder, has been associated with increased risk of fatal myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death in epidemiological studies. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV) is currently the gold standard measurement of arterial stiffness. CF-PWV is a well-recognized predictor of an adverse cardiovascular outcome with higher predictive value than classical cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of our study is to measure PWV as the surrogate of arterial stiffness and vascular involvement in patients with panic disorder. Methods: Forty-two patients with PD, and 30 control participants were included in the study. Patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or the history of any cardiovascular disease were excluded from study. Results: Baseline characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups, except carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PD vs. control; 7.51 ± 2.02 vs. 6.24 ± 1.09. m/s, p=0.001), heart rate, and smoking status. Additionally, CF-PWV positively correlated with age (r=0.250, p=0.034), heart rate (r=0.284, p=0.017), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (r=0.393, p=0.001 and r=0.286, p=0.015, respectively) significantly. However, only the presence of panic disorder was independently related to PWV (?eta: 0.317, p=0.011) in the multivariate analysis including age, heart rate, smoking status and blood pressure measurements. Conclusion: Increased pulse wave velocity in patients with panic disorder may justify the associated risk as documented in previous studies, and may be useful in identifying the patients with higher risk of future cardiovascular complications. © 2012 Elsevier Inc