INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELLING USING SPSS AND AMOS

En anmeldelse af: Niels J. Blunch Introduction to Structural Equation Modelling using SPSS and AMO

DEN PARADOKSALE LIVSTILFREDSHED I ALDERDOMMEN

Empiriske studier har vist, at de fleste ældre foretrækker en tidligere periode i livet frem for alderdommen. Men undersøgelser også har vist, at højere alder ikke nødvendigvis er forbundet med større utilfredshed med tilværelsen; tværtimod angiver ældre at være lige så tilfredse med livet som yngre. Dette tilsyneladende paradoks undersøges ud fra forskellige teoretiske tilgange til livstilfredshed. Konklusionen er, at livstilfredshed i alderdommen kan være et resultat af adaptive psykologiske processer, der anvendes af den aldrende person til at tilpasse sine forventninger til betingelserne i alderdommen. Disse processer udvikles over livsløbet, og livstilfredshed kan derfor anskues som et dynamisk begreb

Perspektiver inden for teknologisk-assisteret indsamling af data i psykologisk forandring – rammesat af den synergetiske psykologi.

It is a methodological challenge to describe change processes within psychology, as change is often characterized by both loss and growth in function. Especially compensatory processes may be impossible to describe by conventional methods. These methods typicallydetect changes in the level of functionality from one point to another, but are unable to identify the processes that mediate the development. A micro-genetic method that is based on high-frequency data collection, may be suitable to describe change processes in normativepopulations, as well as psychopathological. As data density is greater and the observed processes of change can be non-linear, registration, analyzes, and interpretation of microgenetic data do, however, challenge the conventional methods of measurement in psychologicalresearch. Within the framework of Synergetics (a theory of self-organization in complex dynamical systems), Günter Schiepek and colleagues have developed a tool for registration and analysis: the Synergetic Navigation System. This system enables closemonitoring of clients’ mental state during critical development phases and offers support for therapeutic processes. In both cases, clients’ dynamic development processes exhibit characteristics that can be described and analyzed using concepts and methods from Synergetics. This publication describes how the approach can be applied in research in adult development of emotion regulation and how it may be useful in a clinical setting

What kind of science for dual diagnosis? A pragmatic examination of the enactive approach to psychiatry

The recommended treatment for dual diagnosis - the co-occurrence of substance use and another mental disorder - requires seamless integration of the involved disciplines and services. However, no integrative framework exists for communicating about dual diagnosis cases across disciplinary or sectoral boundaries. We examine if Enactive Psychiatry may bridge this theoretical gap. We evaluate the enactive approach through a two-step pragmatic lens: Firstly, by taking a historical perspective to describe more accurately how the theoretical gap within the field of dual diagnosis initially developed. Secondly, by applying the Enactive Psychiatry approach to data from a longitudinal study on the trajectory of cannabis use in psychosis disorders. By applying the theory rather than simply presenting it, we position ourselves better to evaluate whether it may assist the purpose of achieving a more expedient pragmatic “grip” on the field of dual diagnosis. In our discussion, we suggest that this may very well be the case. Finally, we consider the enactive approach as one of a small handful of new theories of mental disorders that draw on systems thinking and ecological psychology, and discuss whether they have the potential for a wider progressive problemshift within psychiatry. The case in favor of such potential, we argue, is less strong unless the role of complexity, similar to that seen within the dual diagnosis field, may be demonstrated for other fields of clinical practice

Development through life transitions? An empirical study of men’s development in emotion regulation during cancer, fatherhood, and retirement

Det er et udbredt empirisk fund, at ældre personer ikke rapportererlavere livstilfredshed end yngre. Faktisk vil man kunne mødemange 80-årige, som oplever færre negative følelser end mange20-årige. Da et langt liv uundgåeligt medfører tab, en aldrendekrop svækkes, og sygdom bliver mere udbredt med alderen, forekommerdette paradoksalt: Hvorfor er alderdommen ikke forbundetmed dårlig livskvalitet og negative følelser? En mulig forklaringpå dette kan være, at man gennem voksenlivet tilegner sig enstadig mere velfungerende evne til at håndtere sine følelsesmæssigereaktioner på de belastninger, man møder. At der sker en udviklingi evnen til adaptiv emotionsregulering. En sådan udviklingkan måske accelereres, når en ny livssituation opstår, og der stillesekstra store krav til emotionsregulering.I denne longitudinelle spørgeskemaundersøgelse blev firegrupper af mænd fulgt i fem måneder. Deltagerne var fædre(n=97) omkring fødslen af deres første barn, mænd med testikelkræft(n=33) lige efter diagnosen, mænd, der blev pensioneret(n=79), og en kontrolgruppe af mænd (n=92), der ikke oplevedestørre livsændringer.Resultaterne viser, at gruppernes psykologiske trivsel udvikledesig forskelligt. Kræftpatienterne fik det bedre, fædrene fikdet dårligere, mens pensionisters og kontrolpersoners trivselvar uændret. I alle grupper sås ændringer i emotionsreguleringsstrategier,og grupperne adskilte sig signifikant i udviklingenaf accept, positiv revurdering og perspektivering. Der vardog ikke et gennemgående mønster i ændringerne, og der varikke aldersforskelle i udviklingen af strategier. Så samlet setgiver studiet ikke et klart svar på, om livstransitioner er forbundetmed udvikling af emotionsregulering.It is empirically well established that older adults do not report lower lifesatisfaction levels than younger adults. Many 80-year-old individuals experiencefewer negative emotions than 20-year-olds do. Why is old age notassociated with low quality of life and negative affect when most peopleexperience loss, reduced physical functioning and disease over the course oflife? An improved ability to manage distress and regulate the emotionalresponse to life stressors in late life could explain this paradox of ageing. Ifadults continuously develop adaptive emotion regulation, such developmentmay accelerate during periods of change where the individual meet newchallenges and established strategies may be inefficient.In this longitudinal questionnaire study, men answered monthly questionnairessix times about their psychological well-being and emotion regulationstrategies while undergoing a life transition. The participants included firsttimefathers (n=97), men diagnosed with testicular cancer (n=33), men whoretired (n=79), and a control group of men who did not experience any significantlife events (n=92).Results showed that psychological well-being developed differentlywithin the groups during the observation period. Well-being in cancerpatients improved, while for fathers it declined, and it did not change forretirees and controls. All groups changed in reported use of emotion regulationstrategies, and the groups differed in changes in acceptance, positivere-appraisal, and perspective. However, the pattern of change was inconsistent,and there were no age differences in the development of strategies. Inconclusion, the study did not provide a clear picture of potential developmentin emotion regulation during life transitions

" Cancer Much Before I Expected??: The Influence of Life Script Expectations on Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Religious Coping in Breast Cancer Patients

BACKGROUND: Life scripts refer to culturally normative expectations to the sequence and timing of events in a life course. Cancer risk increases with age and cancer is often considered a disease of old age. We examine whether: 1) cancer is expected to occur in a certain period of life, 2) expected time when developing cancer depends on own age at cancer diagnosis, and 3) discrepancy between age at diagnosis and expected cancer-time is associated with distress. METHOD: Participants were 489 women (Age: 18–68 yrs; response rate: 76%) attending treatment or control visits for breast cancer during a 3-month period at the two main departments responsible for treating cancer patients in the Gaza Strip. Assessments included: Demographic, disease-and treatment-related factors including age at diagnosis, post-traumatic stress symptoms (IES-R subscales: avoidance, intrusion, hyperarousal), religious coping

Cancer-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms of Palestinian Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors from the Gaza Strip: Associations with Non-Cancer Traumatic Events and …

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Correlation between telomere length and mitochondrial copy number in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Background: Telomeres (TL) shorten with age and in response to cellular stress or adverse health conditions. Accordingly, telomeres may be used as a measure for aging and stress. Mitochondria are multifunctional organelles that are extensively integrated with many cellular activities, that have key roles in aging. Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and heteroplasmy increase with age, making mtDNA copy number a potential target for at biomarker for ageing and stress. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between TL and mitochondrial DNA copy number.Methods: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used for measurement of TL and mtDNA on Stratagene PCR System. We examined the correlation between TL and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number for 84 samples of DNA from participants undergoing a life transition (study group) or no life transition (control group). Results: A weak statistically significant correlation between TL and mtDNA was observed for the control group of individuals (n=37, R2= 0.118, p=0.021). For the life transitions study group no statistically significant correlation was found.Conclusions: The tendency of decreasing TL with increasing mtDNA observed in the study population at the time of inclusion, needs to be confirmed in larger populations to support these findings