1,720,962 research outputs found
The Influence of Suicide and Assisted Suicide on the Bereavement of Suicide Survivors
No full textSuicide is still one of the most stigmatized types of death, arousing controversy. There exists its special type: assisted suicide in which a one kills themselves with the help of another person. It is very interesting to compare the psychological consequences of these two forms of death for the suicide survivors – that is, the relatives of the ones who took their own lives. While there are many similarities between suicide and assisted suicide, certain "technical differences" between them can significantly affect the later functioning of the survivors. In the case of "ordinary" suicide, we distinguish factors that make it difficult to survive bereavement, while assisted suicide may sometimes also have a facilitating effect on this process. The literature review shows that suicide survivors experience a higher sense of guilt (exacerbated by sometimes felt relief), anger, abandonment and responsibility, and lower support and acceptance than the relatives of other deceased. Interestingly, they do not necessarily suffer from mental disorders more often, but they are more stigmatized and feel the need to hide the circumstances of their loved ones’ death. People left after the assisted suicide also sometimes experience emotions such as relief and a sense of abandonment, they tend to distance themselves from others and hide the truth about the death of their loved ones (in this case also because of the fear of legal consequences). The most significant differences, important for the later experience of bereavement, are the possibility of saying goodbye, as well as the belief that they provided their loved ones the "good death". These factors make it much easier to mourn, reduce the traumatic experience of grief. However, there are other factors potentially complicating bereavement – research shows that assisting in suicide correlates with certain mental disorders. This may be, for example, because of ethical doubts that this practice raises, conflict with the value system, potential remorse, alienation from the community after condemning such an act, fear of legal consequences and doubts if assisting in a suicide was a right decision
The sense of coherence in healthy individuals with psychotic-like experiences
Full text linkIntroduction: Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are subclinical symptoms of psychosis that can be observed in general population. They share many characteristics with psychosis and may, but do not have to, precede the development of psychotic disorders. Sense of coherence (SOC) is a global orientation which helps a person successfully cope with the demands of life, and stay healthy. A SOC level expresses how much a person believes that the world is predictable and coherent, and has been shown to be related to psychological functioning. It consists of the three components: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. The aim of the study was to test the relationship between SOC and PLEs, which has not been tested before. Material and methods: The research comprised the pilot and the main study. The study samples consisted of 82 and 215 adults respectively. Psychiatric disorders or the use of psychoactive substances 3 months prior to the study were the exclusion criteria. SOC and PLEs were measured with self-report questionnaires. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between the study variables. Results: SOC was found to be strongly and negatively correlated with PLEs. Also, SOC was determined to be a non-redundant, negative predictor of psychotic-like experiences. When SOC components (comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness) were tested separately as predictors, meaningfulness was found to be a negative predictor of negative PLEs and a positive predictor of positive PLEs. Conclusions: The results suggest that SOC is an important factor negatively related to PLEs. Further studies are required to verify whether high-level SOC may be a factor preventing the development of PLEs
Pain sensitivity and depressive triad mediate the relationship between trauma and stress, and symptoms of premenstrual disorders
No full textThe aim of this study was to test if negative cognitive triad and subjective pain sensitivity mediate the relationship between known risk factors (trauma and stress) and the symptoms of premenstrual disorders (premenstrual syndrome [PMS] and premenstrual dysphoric disorder [PMDD]) measured both retrospectively and prospectively. The study was divided into two stages: a cross‐sectional (N= 228) and a prospective diagnosis (N= 90) parts. Correlation and mediation analyses were performed. Both variables mediated the association of trauma and stress with retrospectively measured premenstrual symptoms (mediation between trauma and premenstrual symptoms through depressive triad was full). In the sample of prospectively diagnosed individuals, again, both negative cognitive triad and pain sensitivity mediated the relationship between trauma and PMS/PMDD symptoms partially, and there was full mediation between baseline stress level and premenstrual symptomatology. However, for the mean stress level during the prospective diagnosis phase, only pain sensitivity was a significant, partial mediator. The results suggest that depressive cognitive triad and subjective pain sensitivity may play an important role in the development and maintenance of premenstrual disorders. These findings can contribute to the improvement of PMDD and PMS treatment, emphasising the importance of pain management and addressing core beliefs in psychotherapy of premenstrual disorders
The role of trait anger, rumination, and locus of control in the relationship between trauma, stress, and premenstrual disorders
Full text linkThe aim of this study was to look for mediators of the relationship between established risk factors (trauma and stress) and the symptoms of premenstrual disorders. The study was divided into two parts: with a retrospective (N = 339; aged 18–47, M= 24,23; SD = 5.23) and a prospective (N = 76; aged 18–44, M = 25.85; SD = 6.09) measure of premenstrual symptoms.The tested mediators were rumination, external locus of control, and trait anger. While all variables were significantly correlated, only trait anger mediated the relationship between stress and retrospectively measured premenstrual symptoms (indirect effect B = 0.29; 95%CI: 0.13–0.47; β = 0.07), and the association of trauma with both retrospectively recalled (indirect effect B = 0.19; 95%CI: 0.09–0.31; β = 0.06) and prospectively measured premenstrual symptoms (indirect effect B = 0.35; 95%CI: 0.07–0.75; β = 0.08). Locus of control and ruminations seem to be primarily related to one’s subjective assessment of premenstrual symptoms severity, and trait anger seems to be a factor related to the actual symptoms’ severity. These findings can contribute to our better understanding of premenstrual disorders and may be used in developing their more effective therapy
The relationship between trauma, stress, and premenstrual symptoms : the role of attributional style and trait anger
No full textAims: The aim of this study was to examine potential mediators of the relationship between traumatic experiences, perceived stress, and the subjective, retrospectively measured, intensity of symptoms of premenstrual disorders. It was hypothesised that pessimistic attributional style and trait anger mediate the said relationship. Methods: The study sample comprised 150 non-clinical subjects (aged 18–31; M = 21.82; SD = 2.19). Study variables were assessed with self-report questionnaires: the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST); the Traumatic Experiences Checklist (TEC); the Perceived Stress Scale-4 Short Form (PSS-4); the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ); and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2 – trait anger subscale). Correlation and mediation analyses were performed. Results: The symptoms of premenstrual disorders were significantly and positively associated with both trait anger and pessimistic attributional style, as well as with trauma and stress. The correlations were moderate to strong, ranging from rho = 0.57 (pessimistic attributional style and trauma) to rho = 0.85 (stress and premenstrual symptoms). Both anger and pessimistic attributional style partially mediated the relationship between trauma and premenstrual symptoms and between stress and premenstrual symptoms. Conclusion: Although the design of the study does not allow to infer causality, it demonstrates strong, positive relationship between the symptoms of premenstrual disorders, trauma, stress, attributional style, and anger. The results of mediation analyses may point to some practical implications (e.g. for psychotherapeutic interventions) but further studies employing prospective methods are needed
Depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between the retrospectively measured symptoms of premenstrual disorders and negative but not positive psychotic-like experiences
Full text linkThe aim of this study was to examine the relationship between retrospectively measured premenstrual symptoms and subclinical forms of positive and negative psychotic symptoms (psychotic-like experiences; PLEs). It was hypothesised that subjective intensity of the symptoms of premenstrual disorders predicts PLEs frequency and that this relationship is mediated by anxiety and depression. The study sample comprised 108 non-clinical subjects. Study variables were assessed with self-report questionnaires: the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST); the Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II); the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; trait sub-scale); the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE). Regression and mediation analyses were performed. The PSST scores were significantly and positively associated with psychotic-like experiences frequency. The relation was stronger for positive PLEs. Anxiety and depression partially mediated the relationship between premenstrual symptoms and negative PLEs, but not between premenstrual symptoms and positive PLEs. Although the design of the study does not allow to infer causality, it demonstrates strong, positive relationship between the symptoms of premenstrual disorders and psychotic-like experiences. The relationship between premenstrual disorders and negative PLEs seems to be partially based on a general psychopathological factor. Further longitudinal studies are needed to test whether premenstrual disturbances increase risk of psychotic symptoms
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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