Exploring the relationship between sleep quality, emotional well-being and aggression levels in a European sample

Sleep deprivation is well known to negatively affect mood, cognition and behaviour. The current study explored the relationship between sleep quantity, subjective sleep quality and aggression, hostility and well-being levels among adults in a non-clinical population. Two hundred and one participants aged 18 and above from Germany, UK and the Netherlands completed an online survey consisting of a sleep quality index (PSQI) along with measures of psychological well-being, implicit and explicit aggression, and intent attributions. Sleep disturbances were expected to increase hostile attributions and emotional problems such as irritability, distress and inner tension. Additionally, poor sleep quality was expected to predict increased (reactive) aggression. Our results confirmed that sleep disturbances were related to decreased levels of psychological well-being. Subjective poor sleep quality predicted increased hostile attributions. The overall sleep experience however was not associated with aggression levels. Nevertheless, both a poor sleep experience and low sleep quality were related to increased reactive aggression, but only in British participants. Current findings highlight the importance of sleep quality rather than sleep quantity in predicting hostile and aggressive behaviours, particularly perceived quality

Understanding the sleep-aggression relationship in a forensic mental health sample

The contribution of cognition to the sleep-aggression relationship is explored via three connected studies, involving adult male forensic patients detained in a high secure hospital. Study 1 included 31 patients, interviewed to examine their experiences of specific sleep problems. In Study 2, 42 patients completed a series of measures examining sleep dysfunction, aggression, and cognition, while Study 3 was designed to impact on sleep via a cognitive approach. In the latter, 48 patients were randomly assigned as part of a feasibility trial to one of three conditions: mindfulness (cognitive approach), sleep education, and treatment as usual. Collectively, the studies demonstrated the multifaceted nature of cognition in the sleep-aggression relationship, with a need to account fully for cognitive factors. A preliminary conceptual model is outlined - the Cognitive Sleep Model for Aggression and Self Harm (CoSMASH), as a direction for future research to consider

Raadpleeg niet de DSM, maar de wetenschappelijke literatuur.: Simulanten “spotten”

Hoe stel je vast of klachten authentiek zijn of door de patiënt worden voorgewend? in oktober 2015 organiseerden verzekeringsartsen in opleiding het symposium ‘truth or lie?’ waarbij zij experts uit verschillende disciplines – de filosofie, psychiatrie, en psychologie – uitnodigden om clinici hierin enige handvatten te bieden. Recentelijk werd in dit tijdschrift een samenvattend verslag gepubliceerd.1 in dit stuk becommentarieer ik enkele misvattingen over klachtensimulatie die gedurende het symposium en in het verslag als feitelijkheden werden weergegeven. Deze misvattingen zijn wijdverbreid en worden gevoed door de in de diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm) te vinden beschrijving van klachtensimulatie die, ondanks haar zwakke empirische basis, een sterke – en hoofdzakelijk negatieve – invloed uitoefent op het differentiaal-diagnostisch proces

Simuleren in de DSM: Een recept voor misdiagnostiek

When confronted with diagnostic questions, clinicians may feel tempted to rely on stereotypical ideas about diagnoses. Such ideas may improve clinical judgment when they have a strong predictive value. However, their use may be problematic when grounded in misconceptions. One deeply rooted misconception can be found in the dsm section on malingering. This section stresses a strict demarcation between malingering and the somatic symptom- and related disorders, traditionally known as hysteria. A central assumption is that malingering is particularly common in patients with antisocial personality features who intentionally deceive others, while hysteria is ascribed to the unconscious. That blindly relying on the dsm may invite misdiagnosis of a plethora of symptoms is the topic of this article

Simuleren in de DSM:Een recept voor misdiagnostiek

When confronted with diagnostic questions, clinicians may feel tempted to rely on stereotypical ideas about diagnoses. Such ideas may improve clinical judgment when they have a strong predictive value. However, their use may be problematic when grounded in misconceptions. One deeply rooted misconception can be found in the dsm section on malingering. This section stresses a strict demarcation between malingering and the somatic symptom- and related disorders, traditionally known as hysteria. A central assumption is that malingering is particularly common in patients with antisocial personality features who intentionally deceive others, while hysteria is ascribed to the unconscious. That blindly relying on the dsm may invite misdiagnosis of a plethora of symptoms is the topic of this article