B. Ragni, S. Cappelletti, S. D. Stasio, I. Tondo, N. Specchio, F. Vigevano, S. Gentile
{"title":"The impact of epilepsy on adolescence: a quali-quantitative investigation using focus group","authors":"B. Ragni, S. Cappelletti, S. D. Stasio, I. Tondo, N. Specchio, F. Vigevano, S. Gentile","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2428","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2428","url":null,"abstract":"Adolescents with epilepsy live with a chronic illness that influences their relationships with peers and the development of their autonomy. Questions have been raised as to whether quantitative research approaches can adequately capture patients' experiences of living with epilepsy. By comparison, qualitative research methodologies support a more in-depth exploration of patients' personal experiences, enabling epilepsy researchers to obtain meaningful and valuable insights into patients' unique point of view. Participants in the present study were eight adolescents with epilepsy (five females, three males) aged between 15 and 20 years. The data were collected via a standard focus group procedure and self-report measures (Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression; PHQ-9 ; Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale; GAD-7 and Quality of Life Inventory for Adolescents; QOLIE-AD-48 ) . Qualitative analysis of the focus group data yielded four key categories defining the psychosocial impact of epilepsy on adolescence: \"Peer relationships and acceptance\", \"Autonomy\", \"School,\" and \"Future\". These outcomes suggest that epilepsy research may be significantly enhanced by the use of mixed-method approaches: adopting qualitative techniques such as focus group discussions to explore epileptic adolescents' thoughts and feelings and the psychosocial impact of epilepsy during adolescence, can inform clinical practice and promote the empowerment and quality of life of teenagers with epilepsy.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48870472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giulia Lausi, Alessandro Quaglieri, Jessica Burrai, Emanuela Mari, A. Giannini
{"title":"Development of the DERS-20 among the Italian population: a study for a short form of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale","authors":"Giulia Lausi, Alessandro Quaglieri, Jessica Burrai, Emanuela Mari, A. Giannini","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2511","url":null,"abstract":"The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) (Gratz & Roemer 2004) is one of the most widely used measures to investigate individual differences in the ability to identify, accept and manage emotional experiences. This scale facilitates the understanding of the disorders underlying emotional dysregulation. However, its length may require a shorter version to create more flexible study protocols. The original scale has demonstrated good psychometric properties and has been shown to be a useful measurement instrument for emotion regulation. For this reason, i.e., to develop a short form, in Study 1, an Italian version of the DERS-36 (Sighinolfi et al., 2010) was administered to n = 520 subjects. Based on the strongest items from the six-factor structure, a 20-item form of the DERS was obtained, and reliability analysis showed good results both on scales and factors. In Study 2 , the DERS-20 was administered to n = 262 subjects who also completed the DERS-36, the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to examine the construct validity. These findings replicate the good results of Study 1 and confirm the reliability and validity of the DERS-20 construction.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43125856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laura Rosa Midolo, Gianluca Santoro, Erika Ferrante, Paola Pellegriti, Santi Russo, Antonino Costanzo, A. Schimmenti
{"title":"Childhood trauma, attachment and psychopathology: A correlation network approach","authors":"Laura Rosa Midolo, Gianluca Santoro, Erika Ferrante, Paola Pellegriti, Santi Russo, Antonino Costanzo, A. Schimmenti","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2418","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2418","url":null,"abstract":"Consistent evidence supports the view that childhood trauma is linked with insecure attachment styles and psychopathology. However, it is a matter of debate how different forms of child maltreatment may relate with dimensions of anxiety and avoidance in attachment relationships and may foster specific configurations of clinical symptoms. Accordingly, examining the associations between childhood trauma, insecure attachment and psychopathology from a correlation network perspective may serve to fill a relevant gap in the literature. Three-hundred fifty-two adults aged between 18 and 73 years old (M= 32.70; SD = 11.72) completed measures on child maltreatment, attachment styles and psychopathology. A regularized partial correlation network was estimated to examine the relationships between the three constructs. The network showed 101 out of 190 nonzero correlations linking childhood traumatic experiences, anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions, and clinical symptoms. The analysis of the network showed that being exposed to emotional abuse and emotional neglect increased the risk of being exposed to other types of childhood trauma, such as physical abuse. Anxious attachment was more strongly linked to child maltreatment and psychopathology than avoidant attachment. Suicidal ideation and maladaptive personality functioning were the clinical symptoms most strongly connected with the other variables in the network. These findings might be relevant for the assessment and treatment of individuals who display clinical problems related to insecure attachment and early relational trauma.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41929227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Vita, A. Caputo, M. Quattropani, T. Watt, U. Feldt-Rasmussen, P. Puleio, S. Benvenga, G. Martino
{"title":"Quality of Life in Patients with Hyperthyroidism: Where do we stand?","authors":"R. Vita, A. Caputo, M. Quattropani, T. Watt, U. Feldt-Rasmussen, P. Puleio, S. Benvenga, G. Martino","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2521","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. Increasing interest exists concerning the physical and mental wellbeing of patients with hyperthyroidism. Aim. This review aims at gathering the most updated literature on the quality of life (QoL) in patients with hyperthyroidism. Method: We searched PubMed from inception to May 20, 2020 for English language studies using the following entries: “hyperthyroidism AND quality of life”, “Graves’ disease AND quality of life”, “diffuse toxic goiter AND quality of life”, “toxic nodular goiter AND quality of life”, “subclinical hyperthyroidism AND quality of life”. Thirty-nine papers were finally reviewed. Results: Patients with hyperthyroidism have worse QoL than euthyroid subjects, especially if they have Graves’ disease and Graves’ orbitopathy. Treatment of hyperthyroidism with restoration of euthyroidism may not fully restore QoL even after many years, indicating that such patients have difficulties adapting to and coping with their illness, thus experiencing marked and longstanding limitations in physical, mental and psychosocial functioning. Conclusion. As differences exist on long-term outcomes between therapeutic options for hyperthyroidism, it is logical to hypothesize related differences in long-term changes in QoL. Future clinical and psychological studies could monitor QoL and its related domains across different stages of disease and deepen patients’ trajectories of illness experience and the use of coping strategies to face their condition.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42064762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hajira Ramlan, Norrul Izuhan Shafri, S. Wahab, Mohammad Arif Kamarudin, R. Rajikan, N. Wahab, H. Damanhuri
{"title":"Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Medical Students: An Early Observation Analysis","authors":"Hajira Ramlan, Norrul Izuhan Shafri, S. Wahab, Mohammad Arif Kamarudin, R. Rajikan, N. Wahab, H. Damanhuri","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2516","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2516","url":null,"abstract":"Studying a medical degree can create a stressful environment for students who are in the pre-clinical or clinical phase of their course. This study aims to determine both the effect of a medical programme on levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) medical students before and during the course. A study was conducted with 133 first-year medical students enrolled in the 2018/2019 academic session in UKM. Levels of depression, anxiety and stress were measured using a validated questionnaire—the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21)—at two different time intervals: during orientation week (time 0) and early in the second semester (time 1). The collected data undergo statistical assessment with Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis H Test using SPSS v25.0. The medical students comprised 25.6% (n = 34) males and 74.4% (n = 99) females. More than half were Malay (60.9%, n = 81), followed by Indian (18%, n = 24), Chinese (12%, n = 16) and other races (9%, n = 12). There was a significant increase in depression (Z = -4.263, p < 0.001), anxiety (Z = -2.235, p = 0.025) and stress (Z = -4.783, p < 0.001) symptoms among UKM medical students after starting the medical programme. Unhealthy level of anxiety was found to be highly prevalent compared with depression and stress, at both time intervals. The association between anxiety and race during the medical programme appeared to be significant (Z = 11.694, p = 0.009). The medical students experienced higher depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms as early as 6 months during the medical programme. Preventive measures should be taken at an early stage to maintain medical students’ good psychological health.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49134437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A narrative review on alexithymia in adolescents with previous adverse experiences placed for adoption, in foster care, or institutions. Prevalence, gender differences, and relations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms","authors":"S. Muzi","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2449","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2449","url":null,"abstract":"Alexithymia is a recognized risk factor for psychopathology, showing relationships with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The prevalence of alexithymia ranges from 7-21% in low-risk community adolescents, especially girls. Further, few retrospective studies suggest a higher incidence in individuals with past traumatic experiences, but they are mostly on clinical adults. Therefore, the current narrative review aimed to examine the state-of-art of literature on alexithymia (in terms of prevalence, gender differences, and relationships with internalizing-externalizing symptoms), in non-clinical adolescents potentially at “high-risk” for alexithymia because placed for adoption, in foster care or institutions due to adverse and potentially traumatic experiences (parental abandonment, neglect, abuse, etc). The review of the literature was computed on documents retrieved through electronic databases (ProQuest, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, PubMed, WOS, Scopus, Google Scholar), included according to their pertinence and type (empirical studies). Of 6379 documents, only 6 studies (0.2%) on institutionalized adolescents met the inclusion criteria, none in adopted and foster care groups. \u0000Main results revealed: 1) higher prevalence of alexithymia in institutionalized adolescents (38-85%) compared to community peers; 2) institutionalized girls as more alexithymic, showing more difficulty in identifying and describing feelings than boys, like in community groups; 3) Higher alexithymia was related to more total, internalizing and externalizing problems through similar mechanisms of risk than in community groups. Methodological limits and future directions of research are discussed for each topic, highlighting the need to bridge the research gap on adolescents with adverse backgrounds, potentially at “high-risk” for alexithymia and its negative consequences.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42780450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alessandro Polizzi, S. Santonocito, M. Vaccaro, G. Fichera, S. Torrisi, V. Ronsivalle, G. Palazzo, F. Sicari, F. Indelicato
{"title":"Relationship between Periodontitis and Psychosocial Impact in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis: A Clinical Study","authors":"Alessandro Polizzi, S. Santonocito, M. Vaccaro, G. Fichera, S. Torrisi, V. Ronsivalle, G. Palazzo, F. Sicari, F. Indelicato","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2509","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2509","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is a multi-system disorder that can have significant adverse effects upon the oral health. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between SSc, periodontal disease (PD) and tooth loss and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Methods : For the study were enrolled 70 patients affected by SSc and 75 non-diseased controls matched for age and gender. SSc was characterized in subtypes and with the mean duration of disease and the Modified Rodnan Skin Score [mRSS]. Patients were surveyed and examined through the evaluation of the periodontal parameters and the number of teeth and OHRQoL scores. Results : A logistic regression analysis showed that patients with SSc presented a higher number of missing teeth (p=0.001) and a 6.89-fold (95% CI 2.04 to 18.36) increased odds of CAL compared to the control group. Moreover, the less values of PPD was correlated with mRSS in the total SSc group and with the mean duration of disease in patients with limited SSc, even after adjusting this correlation with the presence of the major organ involvement. The OHIP sub-scale psychosocial impact differed significantly between groups (p= 0.002). The OHIP sum score was also significantly different between groups (p< 0.001). Conclusions : This study showed that patients with SSc presented an increased odds of PD and tooth loss compared to non-diseased controls. In SSc patients, the magnitude of PD was strongly associated with the mRSS and with the mean duration of the disease.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46249167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Features of the perception and understanding of emoji by adolescents with different levels of intelligence","authors":"O. Zashchirinskaia, E. Nikolaeva, Hagedorn Udo","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2417","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2417","url":null,"abstract":"The present study aims at the comparative analysis of the patterns of the identification of images that reflect basic and complex emotions by adolescents with mild intellectual disturbances and by normatively developing peers. The research involved two groups of adolescents. Author's technique was developed and further applied, containing seven multiple choice tasks to study the non-verbal information perception patterns in adolescents with mild intellectual disturbances. It was determined that during saccadic eye movements, all adolescents, regardless of the level of intellectual development, better define such emotions as “joy” and “fear”. For normatively developing adolescents, the zone of interest corresponds to the mouth area as the most moving part of the face, while peers with mild intellectual disturbances take longer to examine the eye area, which is inherent in children in the early stages of ontogenesis. Data indicate that normatively developing adolescents can combine individual image elements into a single whole, while adolescents with intellectual disabilities, lingering on individual image elements, are incapable of creating a single image of it.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46452376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An investigation into social support networks of parents of children with intellectual disability in Bangladesh","authors":"MD Aminul ISLAM","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2506","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2506","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing upon the theories of social cognition, social networks and social capital, this article investigates the structure and function of social support networks of parent of children with intellectual disability in Bangladesh, a developing country in South Asia. The primary data for the study were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Snowball sampling method was used to reach to participants. It also used psychometric tools such as the Lubben Social Network Scale – Revised (LSNS-R) and the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB) to measure the social network and support among the participants. The results show that parents of children with intellectual disability have smaller social network than parents of children without intellectual disabilities. The parents of intellectual disability have relatively a smaller number of close friends and relatives for seeking help, sharing private matters and consulting while making any important decisions. Multiple factors influence their possibility of getting social support. The factors include the number of relatives who see or hear at least once a month; number of relatives to share private matters; availability of relatives for making a decision; number of close friends and the number of close friends who live within five miles of their residence. This article concludes that the social network interventions can be a mechanism for individualized supports and services for the parents.","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46369563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Response to Letter to the Editor: The application of transcranial direct current stimulation on phantom phenomena","authors":"S. Settineri","doi":"10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2459","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/MJCP-2459","url":null,"abstract":"I thank you for your letter concerning the pathology linked to the phantom limbs and for the related relationship with the pain that this mental representation arouses (Orru et al., 2020). The issue adequately falls within the intentions of the MJCP letters to the Editor such as those summarized by Peh & Ng (2010).","PeriodicalId":18428,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2020-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42868106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}