Mortality and Causes of Death in a 10-Year Follow-Up of Patients Treated for Self-Poisonings in Oslo

The present 10-year follow-up study includes all patients (N = 926; 50% females) treated in the medical departments in Oslo for self-poisonings during one year (1980). Seventeen percent were considered suicidal attempts upon admission, 25% among the non-substance abusers and 8% among the abusers. At follow-up, 207 patients (22%) were dead (62% males). The mortality rate was highest among the abusers. The most common causes of death were suicide (21%), heart disease (17%), opiate abuse (15%), and accidents/wounds (13%). Forty-one percent of the suicides occurred during the first two years of the follow-up period. The suicides were by poisoning (57%), hanging (20%), and other methods (23%). The female mortality rate decreased in the second half of the follow-up period whereas the male rate did not change. The risk of death within 10 years after discharge increased with age and was higher in men and in abusers, whereas social group and motive for suicide were not predictive factors. The females had an excess suicide rate of 182 (36–327, 95% CI) in the first year after the self-poisoning and 61 (36–87, 95% CI) in the total period. The corresponding figures for males were 70 (19–122) and 21 (12–30). The only factor associated with an increased suicide rate was a suicidal motive upon the admission for self-poisoning with a 3.1 (1.7–5.8, 95% CI) times increased risk of suicide in the 10-year follow-up period.     

The usefulness of assessing suggestibility and compliance in prisoners with unidentified intellectual disabilities

Søndenaa, E., Rasmussen, K., Palmstierna, T. & Nøttestad, J. A. (2010). The usefulness of assessing suggestibility and compliance in prisoners with unidentified intellectual disabilities. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 434–438. This present study explored the relationship of interrogative suggestibility (n = 133) and compliance (n = 118) to intellectual functioning among prison inmates. The Norwegian versions of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS) and the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS) were used. The results supported previous findings of a negative correlation between the Gudjonsson scales and IQ, and the scales were found useful throughout the IQ range. The impact of a memory artifact was discussed in the light of recent studies and criticism of the scales.     

Stigmatization and Male Identity: Norwegian Males’ Experience after Identification as BRCA1/2 Mutation Carriers

In families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, there is limited knowledge about the reactions of BRCA1/2 mutation positive males. In the present qualitative study, fifteen BRCA1/2 mutation positive men in Norway participated in two successive, in-depth interviews. Seven female partners participated in the second interview. The men reported strong emotional reactions to their positive test results, and they expressed a desire to keep the genetic information private. They considered discussing their test results or health related information with other males as difficult, and they perceived females as their sources of social and emotional support. Interestingly, the second interview revealed important information not communicated during the first interview. The findings of this study contribute to the discussion of whether men who test positive for a BRCA1/2 mutation should receive tailored genetic counseling sessions. Health care providers should be aware of psychological vulnerability in these men, likely stemming from fewer emotional supports in their social networks.     

Assessments in Psychotherapy with Suicidal Patients: The Precedence of Alliance Work

Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy - In this article the aim was to explore how therapists handle suicide risk assessment in connection with patient’s experience of alliance in...     

The role of early maladaptive schemas in predicting exposure and response prevention outcome for obsessive-compulsive disorder

This is the first study that explores whether early maladaptive schemas are related to treatment outcome for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The sample consisted of 88 outpatients with a diagnosis of OCD who completed exposure and response prevention treatment. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Beck Depression Inventory and Young Schema Questionnaire – Short Form were administered before and after treatment. Regression analyses using post-treatment Y-BOCS as the dependent variable indicated that higher scores on the abandonment schema at pre-treatment were related to poor outcome and explained 7% of the variance in symptoms at post-treatment. Higher scores on the self-sacrifice schema at pre-treatment were related to good outcome and explained 6% of the variance in obsessive-compulsive symptoms at post-treatment. During treatment, only changes in the failure schema were significantly related to good outcome and explained 18% of the variance in symptoms at post-treatment.     

Reliability and validity of the Norwegian translation of the Child Eating Disorder Examination (ChEDE)

Frampton, I., Wisting, L., Øverås, M., Midtsund, M. & Lask, B. (2011). Reliability and validity of the Norwegian translation of the Child Eating Disorder Examination (ChEDE). Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 196–199. The Child Eating Disorder Examination (ChEDE) is a valid and reliable semi‐structured interview, which measures eating‐disorder specific psychopathology in children and young adolescents. The instrument is an adaptation of version 12.0D of the original Eating Disorder Examination (EDE 12.0) for adults. The Norwegian translation of the ChEDE is currently the only instrument for assessing eating disorder psychopathology in Norwegian children and adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian translation of the ChEDE 12.0. The Norwegian version of ChEDE 12.0 was administered to 15 Norwegian children with anorexia nervosa (AN), 15 children with diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM) and two groups of 15 age‐matched controls. The groups were compared using a matched pairs design. The results showed that the subscale scores of the AN group were significantly higher than those of the other groups, and the DM comparison group did not differ from its control group. The current AN group scored significantly higher on the Shape Concern subscale than the previous UK sample, with implications for construct validity or cross‐cultural effects worthy of further study. Inter‐rater reliability was generally high (r = 0.91 to 1.00), although there were significant differences between raters on specific items for individual participants. Alpha coefficients for each of the ChEDE subscales indicated a high degree of internal consistency. It was concluded that the Norwegian version of the ChEDE 12 has adequate psychometric properties and can be recommended for clinical and research use with young people with eating disorders in Norway.     

Motivation for Dental Home Care: Testing a Self‐Determination Theory Model1

The present research developed the Self‐Regulation for Dental Home Care Questionnaire (SRDHCQ), based on self‐determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000 ), and used it in an SDT process model of dental health behaviors and self‐rated oral health. In this model, patients' perceptions of autonomy‐supportive (relative to controlling) dental professionals were expected to positively predict patients' psychological needs satisfaction in treatment. Needs satisfaction was expected to be positively related to autonomous motivation for dental home care and perceived dental competence, which were expected to be positively associated with self‐rated oral health and dental health behaviors. Confirmatory factor analysis of the 5‐factor SRDHCQ model fit the data very well, and a structural equation model supported the hypothesized process model.     

‘Just is’-Statements as Generalized Identities

Abstract

Identity is ordinarily taken to be a relation defined on all and only objects. This consensus is challenged by Agustín Rayo, who seeks to develop an analogue of the identity sign that can be flanked by sentences. This paper is a critical exploration of the attempted generalization. First the desired generalization is clarified and analyzed. Then it is argued that there is no notion of content that does the desired philosophical job, namely ensure that necessarily equivalent sentences coincide in this kind of content, and such pairs of sentences consequently are on a par with respect to metaphysical explanations.