Mat á alvarleika persónuleikavandamála : athugun á spurningalistanum Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP) í úrtaki íslenskra háskólanema

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenSpurningalistinn Severity Indices of Personality Problems eða SIPP er nýr spurningalisti sem metur alvarleika vandamála sem oft tengjast persónuleikaröskunum. Listinn er til í tveimur útgáfum og inniheldur önnur 118 atriði (SIPP- 118) sem skiptast á alls 16 undirþætti sem tilheyra fimm yfirþáttum. Hin útgáfan er styttri og inniheldur 60 atriði (SIPP-60) sem notuð eru til að reikna út skor þátttakenda á yfirþáttunum fimm. Tilgangur þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna próffræðilega eiginleika íslenskrar þýðingar á SIPP listunum í úrtaki 634 háskólanema. Niðurstöður sýndu að áreiðanleiki 13 af 16 undirþáttum SIPP-118 var ásættanlegur eða góður ( 0,70). Í leitandi þátttagreiningu voru þrír af fimm þáttum sambærilegir við niðurstöður erlendrar rannsóknar á SIPP-118. Skor á yfirþáttum SIPP-60 höfðu miðlungs til sterka fylgni við skor á spurningalista um lífsánægju þannig að meiri alvarleiki persónuleikavanamála tengdist minni lífsánægju. Marktækur munur var á meðaltölum á öllum yfirþáttum SIPP-60 milli hópa sem höfðu lág, miðlungs eða há skor á skimunarlista fyrir persónuleikaraskanir. Fyrstu niðurstöður á íslenskri þýðingu SIPP spurningalistans benda til að próffræðilegir eiginleikar listans séu góðir en kanna þarf betur þátttabyggingu listans. Áframhaldandi rannsóknir ættu einnig að beinast að notagildi listans við greiningu og mat á árangri meðferðar við persónuleikaröskunum

Assessing severity of OCD symptoms with the Icelandic version of the DOCS

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnVandasamt getur verið að mæla einkenni áráttu- og þráhyggjuröskunar (obsessive-compulsive disorder) vegna þess hversu margbreytileg svipgerð hennar er. Í þessari grein er nýlegum sjálfsmatsspurningalista, Dimensional Obsessive Compulsive Scale (DOCS) lýst, sem mælir alvarleika áráttu- og þráhyggjueinkenna ásamt því að birtar eru niðurstöður rannsóknar á próffræðilegum eiginleikum íslenskrar þýðingar listans. Þátttakendur í rannsókninni voru nemendur við Háskóla Íslands sem mættu í greiningarviðtal. Samkvæmt formlegu geðgreiningarviðtali voru 32 nemendur með áráttu- og þráhyggjuröskun (auk annarra raskana), 28 með kvíðaröskun og 22 uppfylltu ekki greiningarviðmið fyrir neina skilgreinda röskun. Þátttakendur svöruðu meðal annars öðrum spurningalista um áráttu- og þráhyggjueinkenni ásamt spurningalistum um kvíða-, depurðar-, og streitueinkenni og einkenni félagskvíða. Niðurstöður sýndu að áreiðanleiki heildarskors DOCS var góður í öllum þremur hópunum (0,88-0,89). Heildarstigatala og stigatala á fjórum undirkvörðum listans var hæst í hópi þátttakenda með áráttu- og þráhyggjuröskun og var þessi munur marktækur. Einnig reyndist samleitni- og aðgreinandi réttmæti DOCS viðunandi þar sem DOCS hafði sterkari fylgni við niðurstöðu á öðrum spurningalista fyrir áráttu- og þráhyggjueinkenni (OCI-R) heldur en spurningalista um kvíða, depurð, streitu (DASS) og félagskvíða (SPS, SIAS). Niðurstöðurnar renna stoðum undir réttmæti íslenskrar gerðar DOCS. Listinn getur gagnast í greiningu og meðferð áráttuog þráhyggjueinkenna hér á landi.Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has a heterogeneous symptom presentation that can make assessment difficult. In this article we describe a new self-report instrument for assessing severity of OCD symptoms, the Dimensional Obsessive Compulsive Scale (DOCS), and present results on the psychometric properties of the Icelandic translation of the questionnaire. Participants were 82 university students that filled out the DOCS and other questionnaires measuring OCD symptoms and symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress and social phobia. All participants underwent a semi-structured assessment interview for psychiatric disorders, where 32 were diagnosed with OCD (OCDG), 28 with at least one anxiety disorder (ADG), and 22 did not meet diagnostic criteria for any psychiatric disorder (CG). Internal consistency of the DOCS total score was good in all three participants groups. The OCDG scored significantly higher on the DOCS and its subscales compared to ADG and CG. Convergent and divergent validity of the Icelandic version of the DOCS was supported by stronger correlation with other measures of OCD symptoms (the OCI-R, r=0.80) compared to measures of negative affectivity and symptoms of social phobia (r ranged from 0.12 to 0.38). Results indicate that the Icelandic version of the DOCS has good psychometric properties in clinical samples. The DOCS can be a useful instrument to assess severity of OCD symptoms in clinical settings in Iceland

Do daily mood fluctuations activate ruminative thoughts as a mental habit?:Results from an ecological momentary assessment study

It has been suggested that mental habits may underpin a heightened disposition to engage in rumination in response to negative mood. The aim of the current study was to assess the role of habit in the dynamic interplay between affect and ruminative thinking in the flow of daily life experiences. Using mobile ecological momentary assessment, 97 participants recorded affect and rumination ten times daily over six days, after completing measures of trait ruminative brooding and habitual characteristics of negative thinking (e.g. automaticity, lack of conscious awareness, intent and control). Momentary fluctuations in negative (increased) and positive (decreased) affect was prospectively associated with greater rumination-levels at the next sampling occasion. The degree to which affect triggered a subsequent ruminative response was moderated by habitual characteristics of negative thinking in a theoretically consistent way. Stronger temporal pairing of negative affect and rumination was also associated with greater emotional inertia but less carry-over of rumination from one moment to the next. Depression vulnerability may be in the form of rumination being habitually triggered in response to momentary fluctuations in affect, with deleterious effect on mood. The findings may have clinical implications, as targeting the habitual nature of rumination might help reduce depression vulnerability

Evidence for an attention bias toward disgust in contamination fear

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2019.Although attention biases are common in various anxiety disorders, there is no consensus yet regarding attentional bias in obsessive–compulsive disorder. We assessed attention bias toward images involving contamination and disgust using an emotional attentional blink paradigm in a sample of university students high (HCF) or low (LCF) in contamination fear. Neutral, general-threat-, contamination-, and disgust-related images (T1) were presented followed by a discrimination task (T2) 200, 500, or 800 ms later within a rapid serial visual presentation stream of 20 images. The HCF group was overall less accurate on the attentional blink task. Response accuracy differed by image type and lag in the two groups at the trend level and revealed a large drop in performance 200 ms following presentation of disgusting images in the HCF group. No such differences were observed at later lags in the task. There were increases in negative affect following the task for the HCF but not the LCF group, which were correlated with contamination fear scores. The results suggest that a disgust-related attention bias may be present at early stages of information processing in people with contamination fear.Peer reviewe

Sjálfvirkni þunglyndisþanka í daglegu lífi: Rannsóknir á vanabundnu eðli þunglyndisþanka í úrtökum háskólanema og fólks með endurtekið þunglyndi. Innsýn úr snjallsímamælingum

Background: Major depression is the most common psychiatric disorder, associated with the highest disease burden worldwide when it comes to years lost to disability. Efforts to identify indicators of depression risk have strongly implicated depressive rumination, a negative thinking style characterized by repetitive and passive thoughts about the causes, meanings, and consequences of one's feelings and distress. An increasingly popular theoretical perspective posits that over time depressive rumination becomes a mental habit that is initiated automatically without conscious awareness or intent in response to downward shifts in mood, making it persistent and difficult to control. However, the rumination as-a-habit account has rarely been directly tested and it is still unknown whether depression vulnerability is characterized by elevated levels of mood-reactive habitual rumination at the level of short-term dynamics. Aims: The aim of the current research project was to address gaps in the current knowledge on depression vulnerability by utilizing a combination of experimental and novel mobile in-the-moment assessment strategies to better understand the dynamic interplay between mood and ruminative thinking and its habitual characteristics. Three studies were designed to test specific hypotheses involving: a) effects that fluctuations in mood have on subsequent ruminative thinking, b) the degree to which habitual characteristics of negative thinking predict such mood-reactive rumination, and c) whether mood-reactive rumination varies according to the depression-risk spectrum in line with theoretical accounts of depression vulnerability. Methods: In study 1, a total of 115 university students completed self-report measures and participated in an experimental rumination-induction task and outcome-devaluation task measuring habit vs. goal-directed behaviour control. In study 2, a total of 97 participants recorded affect and rumination ten times daily over six days using Ecological Momentary Assessment, after completing measures of trait ruminative brooding and habitual characteristics of negative thinking (e.g., automaticity, lack of conscious awareness, intent, and control). In study 3, formerly depressed individuals with a recurrent history of depression (n = 94) and non-clinical controls (n = 55) recorded in-the-moment affect and rumination ten times daily over six days, after completing baseline measures of trait ruminative brooding, habitual characteristics of negative thinking, and early-life stress. Results: In study 1, greater habitual characteristics of negative thinking were associated with ruminative brooding but not ruminative reflection, and predicted more persistent dysphoric mood following rumination-induction. Rumination was not, however, consistently associated with an imbalance in habit vs. goal-directed behaviour control. In study 2, momentary fluctuations in negative (increased) and positive (decreased) affect was prospectively associated with greater rumination at the next sampling occasion. The degree to which affect triggered a subsequent ruminative response was moderated by habitual characteristics of negative thinking in a theoretically consistent way. Stronger temporal pairing of negative affect and rumination was also associated with greater emotional inertia but less carry-over of rumination from one moment to the next. In study 3, momentary fluctuations in negative affect were prospectively associated with greater rumination at the next sampling occasion in formerly depressed participants whereas this pattern of mood-reactive rumination was not observed in healthy never-depressed participants. In formerly depressed participants, habitual characteristics of negative thinking were associated with greater mood-reactivity of rumination, particularly among those with a history of early-life stress. Mood-reactive rumination was not, however, associated with depression course nor trait ruminative brooding. Conclusions: The findings of the studies demonstrate that fluctuations in affect can trigger ruminative thinking as a function of habit consistent with recent theoretical frameworks of depression vulnerability. Mood-reactive rumination may be a potential vulnerability marker for depression, with rumination being habitually triggered in response to momentary fluctuations in negative affect with a high degree of automaticity, and with a deleterious effect on mood. The current thesis suggests ways depression vulnerability may emerge as a dynamic relationship between negative affect and rumination across time, not captured by traditional trait measures of rumination frequency. Ecological momentary assessment may be a valuable measurement paradigm to test predictions derived from habit-accounts of depressive rumination, that have rarely been investigated until now, and might provide new insights into research on depression risk.This research was sponsored by the Icelandic Center for Research and the Eimskip Fund of The University of Iceland (Rannís Grant 173803-052, 173803-053)

An experimental test of the habit-goal framework : Depressive rumination is associated with heightened habitual characteristics of negative thinking but not habit-directed behavior control

Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by a research grant from the Icelandic Research Fund (grant number 173803-051) Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2020.Habitual thinking may underpin a heightened disposition to engage in rumination in response to negative mood, a widely held notion that has rarely been directly tested. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether rumination is associated with habitual attributes and whether it is related to an imbalance in habit relative to goal-directed behavior control. University students (N=115) completed self-report questionnaires, a rumination induction paradigm and an outcome devaluation task that measures habitual vs goal-directed behavior control. Greater habitual characteristics of negative thinking (e.g., automaticity, lack of conscious awareness, control, and intent) were associated with ruminative brooding but not ruminative reflection and predicted more persistent dysphoric mood following rumination induction. Rumination was not, however, consistently associated with an imbalance in habit versus goal-directed behavior control. These findings indicate that depression vulnerability may be in the form of rumination being habitually triggered (without awareness or intent) with deleterious effects on mood. Although habitual, rumination may not be related to an imbalance in habit relative to goal-directed behavior control. These findings provide support for current theoretical accounts of rumination and set important boundary conditions in the search for specific factors that contribute to rumination as a habit.Peer reviewe

Polychaete invader enhances resource utilization in a species-poor system

Ecosystem consequences of biodiversity change are often studied from a species loss perspective, while the effects of invasive species on ecosystem functions are rarely quantified. In this experimental study, we used isotope tracers to measure the incorporation and burial of carbon and nitrogen from a simulated spring phytoplankton bloom by communities of one to four species of deposit-feeding macrofauna found in the species-poor Baltic Sea. The recently invading polychaete Marenzelleriaarctia, which has spread throughout the Baltic Sea, grows more rapidly than the native species Monoporeia affinis, Pontoporeia femorata (both amphipods) and Macoma balthica (a bivalve), resulting in higher biomass increase (biomass production) in treatments including the polychaete. Marenzelleria incorporated and buried bloom material at rates similar to the native species. Multi-species treatments generally had higher isotope incorporation, indicative of utilization of bloom material, than expected from monoculture yields of the respective species. The mechanism behind this observed over-yielding was mainly niche complementarity in utilization of the bloom input, and was more evident in communities including the invader. In contrast, multi-species treatments had generally lower biomass increase than expected. This contrasting pattern suggests that there is little overlap in resource use of freshly deposited bloom material between Marenzelleria and the native species but it is likely that interference competition acts to dampen resulting community biomass. In conclusion, an invasive species can enhance incorporation and burial of organic matter from settled phytoplankton blooms, two processes fundamental for marine productivity

HLA alleles, disease severity, and age associate with T-cell responses following infection with SARS-CoV-2

Funding Information: We thank all of the participants that contributed samples for this study for their invaluable contribution to the research. We also thank our research staff at the Patient Recruitment Center for their thorough work. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Memory T-cell responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection have been extensively investigated but many studies have been small with a limited range of disease severity. Here we analyze SARS-CoV-2 reactive T-cell responses in 768 convalescent SARS-CoV-2-infected (cases) and 500 uninfected (controls) Icelanders. The T-cell responses are stable three to eight months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, irrespective of disease severity and even those with the mildest symptoms induce broad and persistent T-cell responses. Robust CD4+ T-cell responses are detected against all measured proteins (M, N, S and S1) while the N protein induces strongest CD8+ T-cell responses. CD4+ T-cell responses correlate with disease severity, humoral responses and age, whereas CD8+ T-cell responses correlate with age and functional antibodies. Further, CD8+ T-cell responses associate with several class I HLA alleles. Our results, provide new insight into HLA restriction of CD8+ T-cell immunity and other factors contributing to heterogeneity of T-cell responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection.Peer reviewe

Recurrent depression: Defining features and effectiveness of treatment and prevention strategies

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadOft er skrifað að þunglyndi sé algeng og alvarleg geðröskun sem kosti samfélagið mikið. Þunglyndi er þó ekki einsleitt fyrirbæri. Þótt meiri athygli hafi beinst að stökum lotum þunglyndis og meðferð í bráðafasa hefur áhugi beinst í auknum mæli að því að hluti fólks upplifir endurteknar þunglyndislotur yfir ævina. Í þessari grein er lýst einkennum alvarlegs þunglyndis (e. major depressive disorder) hjá fullorðnum, sem hrjáir 15–18% fólks einhvern tíma ævinnar. Um helmingur upplifir þunglyndi aftur, oftast innan fimm ára. Hætta á nýrri lotu eykst með auknum lotufjölda en meðalfjöldi lota í úrtökum fólks með endurtekið þunglyndi er á bilinu fimm til níu. Í greininni er fjallað er um lýðfræðilega og sálfélagslega þætti sem tengjast þunglyndi og endurtekningu þess. Einnig er fjallað um árangur tveggja helstu meðferðarinngripa, lyfjameðferðar og hugrænnar atferlismeðferðar (HAM), ásamt árangri forvarnarmiðaðrar (ForHAM) og núvitundarmiðaðrar (NúHAM) hugrænnar atferlismeðferðar. Í lok greinarinnar er leitast við að draga saman atriði úr rannsóknum sem gætu verið gagnleg fyrir sálfræðinga að hafa í huga sem koma að mati og meðferð þunglyndis. Nokkur atriði eru einnig rædd sem geta verið mikilvæg í áframhaldandi rannsóknum á þunglyndi og þróun meðferðar við því. Efnisorð: þunglyndi, endurtekið þunglyndi, fullorðnir, meðferð, forvörn.Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent mental disorder, with 15–18% of adults suffering from it at some point in their life. The resulting social costs are therefore high. However, MDD is not a unitary phenomenon, and different forms have been identified. In recent years, increased attention has been given to the recurrent nature of MDD. Research shows that around half of those who experience depression for the first time experience recurrent episodes, with risk for onset increasing with every new episode. In this paper, symptoms of MDD in adults are described along with major demographic and psychosocial factors that are associated with onset and recurrence of depression. Efficacy of empirically supported treatment and prevention protocols are reviewed, focusing on pharmacotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness based cognitive therapy and preventive cognitive therapy. Main research findings, that may be useful for practicing psychologists involved in assessing and treating depression, are summarised. Finally, several issues are discussed, that may be important for future research and treatment development in the field of depression. Keywords: depression, recurrence, adults, treatment, prevention

Pathological skin picking : clinical characteristics and comorbidity in a university student sample

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenHúðkroppunarárátta er yfirleitt langvinn og getur valdið verulegum óþægindum og vanlíðan. Rannsóknir á þessari áráttu eru fáar og hafa flestar verið gerðar á klínískum úrtökum. Í þessari rannsókn var húðkroppunarárátta könnuð í úrtaki háskólanema. Klínískum einkennum var lýst og tíðni geðraskana athuguð. Hálfstaðlað viðtal var lagt fyrir 55 háskólanema sem uppfylltu greiningarviðmið fyrir húðkroppunaráráttu og 55 háskólanema sem aldrei höfðu glímt við húðkroppunaráráttu. Tíðni geðraskana í húðkroppunarhópnum var fremur há og klínísk einkenni reyndust sambærileg þeim sem fram hafa komið í fyrri rannsóknum. Nemendurnir í húðkroppunarhópnum voru líklegri en nemendurnir í samanburðarhópnum til þess að greinast með áráttu- og þráhyggjuröskun og líkamslýtaröskun. Einnig kom í ljós að húðkroppunarárátta hefur tengsl við líkamsmiðaða áráttu svo sem að naga neglur, plokka hár og naga innan úr vörum eða kinnum.Pathological skin picking (PSP) is usually chronic and can result in significant distress and functional impairment. Most research in this area has been done using clinical samples. In the current study PSP was examined in a non-clinical student sample. Clinical characteristics and comorbidity patterns were investigated. Semi-structured interview was administered to 55 university students suffering from PSP and 55 students without history of PSP The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was relatively high in the PSP group and clinical characteristics were similar to those found in previous studies in clinical samples. Students in the PSP group were more likely to be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder, compared to the students in the control group. The results also indicate that PSP relates to body focused repetitive behaviours such as nail biting, hair pulling and mouth chewing