Sociotropic personality traits positively correlate with the severity of social anxiety

Aim. To investigate sociotropic-autonomic personality characteristics and their clinical implications in social anxiety disorder (SAD).  Methods. The study included 68 consecutive patients who were either being followed up on an outpatient basis or presented for the first time to the psychiatric clinics of Bakirkoy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery or Trakya University School of Medicine between May 2012 and May 2013, and were diagnosed primarily with generalised SAD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) diagnostic criteria. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (SAS), Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) and a sociodemographic data collection form designed by the authors were used as primary assessment instruments.  Results. The mean age (standard deviation (SD)) of the sample group was 23.73 (8.85) years; 37 (54.4%) were female and 31 (45.6%) were male. LSAS mean (SD) total fear score was 63.51 (13.74), mean total avoidance score was 61.24 (14.26), BDI mean score was 16.99 (9.58), SAS mean sociotropy score was 71.06 (16.79), and mean autonomy score was 63.22 (16.04). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between SAS sociotropy scores and LSAS fear and avoidance total scores, BDI scores and all subscales of SCL-90-R (p<0.01). There were no statistically significant correlations between SAS autonomy scores and LSAS fear and avoidance total scores, BDI scores and all subscales of SCL-90-R (p>0.05).  Conclusion. Sociotropic personality characteristics in patients with SAD have been found to positively correlate with depression and social anxiety levels. Addressing this finding during treatment sessions and helping the patient increase flexibility in appraisal of social life events may have a positive impact on treatment outcome

Are Hopelessness, Demographic And Clinical Characteristics Of Suicidal Attempts Being A Cue Of A New Attempt?

Bacground: This study aimed the relationship between some demographic and clinical characteristics of suicide attempt with hopelessness, distressing life events prior to the attempt in individuals who attempted suicide and compares the outcomes with healthy volunteers with respect to several sociodemographic variables. Methods: We applied the Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), the Scale for Suicide Ideation, the Suicidal Behavior Scale, the Life Events List in 50 patients who attempted suicide and 52 healthy volunteers. Results: Twenty seven patients (54%) had a suicide plan before the attempt, and 32 patients (64%) shared this plan with their immediate environment. Of these patients, 22 (44%) reported that they still had suicidal thought, and 23 (46%) reported that the stressor life event still continued. The scores of Hopelessness Scale and its subscales were significantly higher in the suicide group both with and without depression compared to the control group. Conclusion: It was concluded to be important to follow up suicidal thoughts, negative life events and hopelessness in patients who attempted suicide or at a risk of suicide attempt. Key words: suicide attempt, clinical characteristics, negative life events, hopelessness Amaç: Bu çalışmada intihar girişiminde bulunan kişilerde girişim öncesi stresli yaşam olayları, umutsuzluk ile intihar girişiminin bazı demografik ve klinik karakteristikler arasındaki ilişki ve çeşitli sosyodemografik değişkenler açısından sağlıklı gönüllüler ile karşılaştırma araştırıldı. Yöntem: Çalışmada intihar girişimi olan 50 hasta ve 52 sağlıklı gönüllüye ‘DSM-IV Eksen I Bozuklukları İçin Yapı- landırılmış Klinik Görüşme Formu (SCID-I)’, ‘Beck Depresyon Ölçeği (BDÖ)’, Beck Anksiyete Ölçeği (BAÖ), Beck Umutsuzluk Ölçeği (BUÖ), İntihar Niyeti Ölçeği, İntihar Davranışı Ölçeği, Yaşam Olayları Listesini uyguladık. Bulgular: Yirmi yedi hastada (%54) girişim öncesi intihar düşüncesi vardı. Otuz iki hasta (%64) bu planını mevcut ortamıyla paylaşmıştı. Bu hastaların 22’si (%44) halen intihar düşüncesine sahip olduğunu, 23’ü (%46) stresli yaşam olayının halen sürdüğünü bildirdi. İntihar grubunda depresyonu olan ve olmayanların umutsuzluk ölçeği toplam ve alt ölçek puanları kontrol grubundan anlamlı olarak yüksekti. Sonuç: İntihar girişimi olan veya intihar girişimi riski bulunan hastalarda intihar düşünceleri, olumsuz yaşam olayları ve umutsuzluğu izlemenin önemli olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır