Pirmą psichozę išgyvenusiųjų artimieji: situacijos sunkumo įvertinimo ir psichologinės kančios ryšys laikui bėgant

The aim of the study was to assess relationships bet­ween the assessment of the situation’s difficulty and psychological distress over time by the relatives of the first episode psychosis patients.The sample of the study comprised 30 relatives (parents 63%, siblings 26%, and partners 10%) of the first episode psychosis patients. Participants of the study were interviewed during the first 10 days after the patient’s admission to the hospital, and then 3 months and 9 months after the first interview. Criteria of the participation in the study: an adult family member of a first-time hospitalized patient; the patient’s diagnosis – psychotic disorder (F20 or F30 with psychosis, ICD-10); a patient no older than 40. The study proceeded at psychiatric hospitals in Vilnius. Relatives: age M = 42.3, SD = 13.24); gender: men 37%, women 63%. Patients: age M = 24.07, SD = 4.87, gender: men 70%, women 30%. The following variables were investigated: demo­graphics, assessment of the situation’s difficulty (perceived psychological trauma subscale (Lewis, 2005)), psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Zigmond and Snaith, 1983)). Data were analyzed by the repeated Anova and testing by the cross-lagged panel design model.The results showed that the relatives’ assessment of the situation’s difficulty and distress improved significantly during the first three months. The prognostic value of distress and the assessment of the situation’s difficulty at Time 1 were different: assessment of the situation’s difficulty overtime was predicted by assessment at Time 1, but the distress overtime was not predicted by the distress at Time 1. Cross-lagged analysis revealed that dis­tress over-time was predicted by the assessment of the situation’s difficulty at Time 1. The results of this study suggest that professionals working with families should pay more attention to diminishing relatives’ negative assessment of the situation from the beginning, because it predicts significantly the later distress.Šio tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti situacijos sunkumo įvertinimo ir psichologinės kančios ryšį laikui bėgant. Gauti rezultatai rodo, kad pirmą psichozę išgyvenusių pacientų artimųjų situacijos sunkumo įvertinimas ir psichologinė kančia reikšmingai pasikeičia jau po trijų mėnesių. Pirmą kartą psichoze sergančių pacientų artimųjų pradinio situacijos sunkumo įvertinimas prognostiškai reikšmingas tolesniam situacijos sunkumo įvertinimui, o psichologinės kančios iš jos pradinio įvertinimo prognozuoti negalime. Iš pradinio situacijos sunkumo įvertinimo galime prognozuoti vėlesnę psichologinę kančią

Research into rail side wearing on curves

Factors influencing rail side wearing in the curves are described in the article. All of them are divided into uncontrolled, partially controlled and controlled. An experiment was carried out on Lithuanian railway line curves. The experiment proceeding conditions and the obtained results are presented. The object of the experimental research is 19 curves. The investigations of dynamic changes in rail wearing and in rail track geometrical parameters on curves were being carried out for one and a half year. The experimental results, associated with the railway gauge influence on rail wearing on curves are analyzed more precisely. Measurement results are described using mathematical dependences. According to the dependences it is possible to estimate the influence of gauge on rail side wearing on curves

Trauma research in the Baltic countries : from political oppression to recovery

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of traumatic stress studies from the three Baltic countries - Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia - and reveal how specific social context contributes to the topics relevant in traumatic stress field in the region. Traumatic stress studies in the Baltic countries are closely related to the complicated history of the region. It was only since the restoration of independence of the Baltic States in the 1990s when traumatic stress studies could emerge. The start of the psychotraumatology in the Baltic States was inspired by the interest of the psychological effects of political violence. Four major topics in traumatic stress literature from the Baltic countries were identified in this article: political violence studies, epidemiology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), disaster studies, and developmental aspects of trauma. Traumatic events prevalence was reported between 70 and 75%, and PTSD prevalence range 2–7% in the Baltic countries. The interest in psychotraumatology in the Baltic countries is rising