1,720,982 research outputs found
Deontological morality can be experimentally enhanced by increasing disgust. A transcranial direct current stimulation study
Full text linkPrevious studies empirically support the existence of a distinctive association between deontological (but not altruistic) guilt and both disgust and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. Given that the neural substrate underlying deontological guilt comprises brain regions strictly implicated in the emotion of disgust (i.e. the insula), the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that indirect stimulation of the insula via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) would enhance disgust and morality in the deontological domain. A randomized, sham-controlled, within-subject design was used. Thirty-seven healthy individuals (25 women) underwent 15-min anodal and sham tDCS over T3 in two different days, while their heart rate (HR) was recorded to derive measures of parasympathetic nervous system activity (HR variability; HRV). After the first 10-min of sham or active tDCS stimulation, participants were asked to 1) complete a series of 6-item words that could be completed with either a disgust-related word (cleaning/dirtiness) or neutral alternatives; 2) rate how much a series of vignettes, each depicting a behavior that violated a specific moral foundation, were morally wrong. Levels of trait anxiety, depression, disgust sensitivity, scrupulosity, and altruism as well as pre- and post- stimulation momentary emotional states were assessed. Compared to the sham condition, after active stimulation of T3 a) HRV significantly increased and participants b) completed more words in terms of cleaning/dirtiness and c) reported greater subjective levels of disgust, all suggesting the elicitation of the emotion of disgust. Although the results are only marginally significant, they point to the absence of difference between the two experimental conditions for moral vignettes in the altruistic domain (i.e., animal care, emotional and physical human care), but not in the deontological domain (i.e., authority, fairness, liberty, and sacrality), where vignettes were judged as more morally wrong in the active compared to the sham condition. Moreover, scores on the OCI-R correlated with how much vignettes were evaluated as morally wrong in the deontological domain only. Results preliminarily support the association between disgust and morality in the deontological domain, with important implications for OC disorder (OCD). Future studies should explore the possibility of decreasing both disgust and morality in patients with OCD by the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques
The Italian validation study of the resilience scale for adults (RSA)
No full textResearch on resilience showed its substantive role as buffer against mental differing but the difficulty to find a valid and reliable measurement instrument represents a limit for the improvement of the knowledge on this topic. In this study we examined the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA). RSA is a 33 item instrument devoted to measure six factors of resilience. Construct and criterion validity have been investigated. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the adequacy of the measurement model to the data showing good fit indexes, all factors but one (Structured Style) showed good reliability indexes. The correlations with life satisfaction, social connectedness, hopelessness and a general index of psychological distress confirmed the criterion validity. Results confirm the construct and criterion validity of the scale. Relations between RSA factors and some indicators of psychosocial well-being and distress are discussed. Suggestions for further validity studies of RSA on the Italian context and on clinical and social relevance of this multidimensional construct are posed
Exploring the association between the Iowa gambling task and community functioning in people with schizophrenia
No full textBackground: Decision making (DM) consists of a number of complex processes involving higher-order cognitive functions involved in outcome evaluation. Problems in DM may have significant negative repercussions on community functioning. We hypothesise in individuals with schizophrenia difficulties in community functioning will be associated with DM problems. Subjects and methods: DM performance was assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in 30 individuals with schizophrenia and 32 healthy controls. Participants' choices on the IGT were grouped as: Ambiguous Decisions, where the outcome is uncertain and cannot be predicted (i.e. IGT initial phase), and Risky Decisions, where the outcome can be predicted with an error margin (i.e. IGT final phase). People with schizophrenia were also assessed with measures of community functioning and symptoms. Results: Controls outperformed individuals with schizophrenia in risky decisions. In patients, levels of community functioning positively correlated with DM performance. Symptomatology was not associated with DM proficiency or functioning. Conclusions: DM impairment may represent an important contributor to poor functional outcomes in people with schizophrenia. Interventions targeting decision making and higher order cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia may have a greater impact on functional difficulties
Different roles of resilience in a non clinical sample evaluated for family stress and psychiatric symptoms
No full textThe aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between resilience, risky family and psychiatric symptoms in order to understand which role resilience may have. 608 post-doc course students (323 males and 285 females) were recruited and evaluated through the Resilience Scale for Adult, the Risky Family Questionnaire and the Brief Symptom Inventory. A cluster analysis was implemented to understand the possible associations among the variables, showing four clusters; then a correlation analysis for each cluster was carried out. There was a significant and meaningful correlation pattern for cluster 1. Subsequently a Sobel test in cluster 1 was implemented, with a significant mediating role for resilience. Resilience is associated with less symptoms in Clusters 1 and 2, but in different ways. It has a protective role, mediating the relation between risky family and psychiatric symptoms in Cluster 1. Meanwhile it has a compensatory effect buffering the symptoms in Cluster 2. Clusters 3 and 4 show a high level of family stress and symptoms but a low level of resilience. It is possible to hypothesize that resilience does not “work” when there has been a high past risky family and so resilience could not have protective or compensatory effect
Childhood family stress and adult resilience in a sample of depressed patients
No full textBackground
The aim of this study is to explore the effect of childhood family stress on depression, personal, and social resilience in depressed patients.
Methods
We assessed childhood family stress (RFQ), depression (BSI, depression subscale), and resilience (RSA) in 152 depressed patients, 70 males, and 82 females. We calculated the 33rd and 66th percentiles of RFQ scores to divide the sample among Low, Medium, and High RFQ subgroups. A one-way ANOVA has been carried out to explore the differences between the variables in the subgroups. Finally, two regression analyses with depression, as the dependent variable, and resilience, divided for stress-sensitive and no stress-sensitive factors as independent variables, have been implemented.
Results
The one-way ANOVA showed that the Low subgroup had a positive profile, the Medium had an intermediate profile, while the High had a negative one for depression, personal (structured style and social competence), and interpersonal (social resources) resilience. The other factors (perception of self, planned future, and family cohesion) did not show differences in the subgroups, suggesting they are no stress sensitive. Regression analysis showed that no stress-sensitive factors have a constant and significant predictive value for depression in all subgroups; while, stress-sensitive ones showed a growing predictive value for depression from Low to Medium, but not in High, suggesting a ceiling effect.
Limitations
The use of self-report measures, the cross-sectional nature of the study, and the lack of a non-clinical and/or outpatient samples.
Conclusions
This study provides a contribution to the understanding of the effect of childhood family stress on adult resilience and depression
Psychotic-like experiences interaction with common risk factors for suicidal ideation
No full textSuicide is a significant global health issue. A number of risk and protective factors have been associated with suicidal ideation, including resilience, social connectedness, adverse child-hood experiences and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). In this study we aimed at measuring the impact of PLEs on suicidality and at exploring how the presence of PLEs moderates the effect of resilience, social connectedness and adverse childhood experiences on suicidal ideation in a sample of 500 undergraduate students using an on-line survey. PLEs were strong predictors of suicidality in the whole sample (OR= 5.45, 95%CI [2.62, 11.30]).The effect of resilience, social connectedness and adverse childhood experiences on suicid-ality was assessed separately for individuals with and without psychotic experience. In in-dividuals without PLEs adverse childhood experiences, poor social connectedness and poor resilience were strongly associated with suicide (OR = 1.87 [1.25, 2.80], OR = 3.68 [2.18, 6.21] and OR = 4.06 [2.37, 6.94] respectively). These associations were weaker in subjects with PLEs (OR = 1.28 [0.76, 2.06], OR = 2.12 [1.13, 3.99] and OR = 2.50 [1.26, 4.94] re-spectively).The effect of interpersonal and environmental risk factors for suicide was hampered in pres-ence of PLEs. Psychological implications are discussed. (PDF) Psychotic-like experiences interaction with common risk factors for suicidal ideation. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338066965_Psychotic-like_experiences_interaction_with_common_risk_factors_for_suicidal_ideation [accessed Dec 21 2019]
ResilienCity: Resilience and Psychotic-Like Experiences 10 Years After L’Aquila Earthquake
Full text linkAn earthquake hit the city of L’Aquila in central Italy in 2009, leaving the city completely destroyed and 309 casualties. Unexpectedly, lower rates of psychotic experiences in persons affected by the earthquake compared to non-affected persons were found 10 months after the earthquake. The very long-term impact of a natural disaster on the prevalence of psychotic experiences deserves more in-depth detailing. The Authors examined resilience and psychotic experiences in a university student sample of 494. No effect of direct exposure to the earthquake (odds ratio = 0.64, 95%CI [0.37, 1.11]), material damages (odds ratio = 0.86, 95%CI [0.60, 1.23]), psychological suffering (odds ratio = 1.06, 95% CI [0.83, 1.36]), or global impact severity (odds ratio = 0.92, 95%CI [0.76, 1.12]) on psychotic experiences was detected. Resilience levels did not differ between affected and non-affected persons. Resilience showed a strong protective effect on psychotic experiences (odds ratio=0.38, 95% CI [0.28, 0.51]. The protective effect of the RSA factor “Perception of Self” was significantly stronger in individuals affected by the earthquake compared to non-affected subjects. Being affected by an earthquake is not a risk factor for psychotic experiences in a university student sample, as no direct effect of the earthquake was detected after 10 years after the event. Resilience is confirmed as a strong protective factor for psychotic experiences irrespectively of large collective traumatic events. Extension of these results to a general population sample could provide interesting insights into recovery from natural disasters
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
Resilience and coping in trauma spectrum symptoms prediction: A structural equation modeling approach
No full textResilience is increasingly recognized as a relevant factor in shaping psychological response to natural disasters. Aim of the study is to examine in the context of a natural disaster the potential effects of resilience on the relation between coping and trauma spectrum symptoms, using structural equation modeling.A sample of 371 students who survived the earthquake in L'Aquila (Italy) were cross-sectionally evaluated using Resilience Scale for Adolescents, Brief Cope and Trauma and Loss Spectrum scale.The model shows a direct path of positive and emotional coping styles on resilience. Emotional coping shows also a direct impact on the outcome; positive and emotional coping results to be positively correlated as well as emotional and disengagement coping styles. Resilience directly affects the PTSD symptoms, partially mediating the impact of the coping styles. The model explains 30% of the variance in the outcome, i.e. the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, with very good fit indexes.Resilience operates as a protective factor from stress symptom development. It is likely that emotional and disengagement coping skills are rapidly involved after a traumatic exposure but when problem focused coping intervenes, resilience allows it to buffer the stressors or even guides toward a more successful outcome
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