Trauma in Resettled Iraqi Refugees: Differences between Those Seeking Psychological Treatment and Those Not Seeking Psychological Treatment

Psychological distress experienced by resettling refugees has been well documented, with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression being prevalent outcomes. This study examined psychological and physiological measures of trauma exposure in 2 groups of Iraqi refugees resettled in Australia, those seeking psychological treatment (n = 25) versus those not seeking treatment (n = 22). Data from a group of healthy sex- and age-matched controls (n = 32) were collected to facilitate norm comparisons for physiological arousal. Continuous recording of electrocardiogram data examined resting heart rate (HR). Refugees seeking treatment had significantly higher levels of PTSD symptomology and depression levels compared to non-treatment-seeking refugees; however, there was no difference in the number of trauma events endorsed. Finally, resting HR was significantly higher in both refugee groups compared with healthy controls; however, there was no difference between the refugee groups. Clinical consideration of this excessive trauma exposure and elevated autonomic arousal is warranted.     

The Impact of Religious Connectedness on Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Religious connectedness is common phenomenon in Saudi Arabia and adjacent Gulf countries. An observational case control study was designed, enrolling 180 adult patients to report the association between religious connectedness and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in people with and without diabetes and foot ulcers. Sixty diabetic patients with foot ulcers (Group I) were compared with sixty diabetic patients without foot ulcer (Group II) and sixty healthy subjects (Group III) for assessment of their HRQL by using SF-36 questionnaire. The effect of religious connectedness was assessed using intrinsic/extrinsic religious connectedness scale. HRQL was found to be significantly lower in Group I compared with Group II and III as well as in group II compared with group III (P < 0.001). Group I patients showed a poorer HRQL with increased severity, duration and multiplicity of foot ulcers. There was a strong positive relationship between religious connectedness and HRQL as indicated by a positive correlation between religious connectedness scale and mental, physical component summary scores (r = 0.66 and 0.59 respectively and P < 0.001). While quality of life is generally poor in people with diabetic foot ulcers, there exists a strong positive relationship between religious connectedness and higher HRQL. These findings may have implications on improving outcomes.     

Prevalence of anxiety among patients undergoing colorectal surgery

To assess prevalence of anxiety 36 consecutive patients undergoing colorectal surgery with general anesthesia were interviewed on the day of surgery and completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Postsurgical ratings of pain and anxiety were obtained within 24 hours after surgery. Analysis indicated that 29 scored moderate or higher on the State Anxiety scale prior to surgery. The correlations for scores on presurgical Trait Anxiety with postsurgical pain and Trait Anxiety scores were significant (p<.01) but not that for pre- and postsurgical State Anxiety     

Complementary and alternative medicine use by psychiatric inpatients

82 psychiatric inpatients hospitalized for acute care were interviewed about their use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities. The clinical diagnoses of respondents included Depressive Disorder (61%), Substance Abuse (26%), Schizophrenia (9%), and Anxiety Disorders (5%). Analysis indicated that 63% used at least one CAM modality within the previous 12 mo. The most frequently used modality was herbal therapies (44%), followed by mind-body therapies such as relaxation or mental imagery, hypnosis, meditation, biofeedback (30%), and spiritual healing by another (30%). Physical modalities such as massage, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, and yoga were used by 21% of respondents. CAM therapies were used for a variety of reasons ranging from treatment of anxiety and depression to weight loss. However, most respondents indicated they did not discuss such use with their psychiatrist or psychotherapist.     

Note on two necessary and sufficient axioms for a well-graded knowledge space

We introduce two pedagogically sound axioms for a knowledge structure modeling a student’s learning: outer fringe coherence and learning smoothness. We show that the knowledge structures satisfying these two axioms are equivalent to well-graded knowledge spaces.     

Octogenarian Reports of Lifetime Spiritual Experiences: Types of Experience and Early Life Predictors

This study assessed lifetime histories of discrete spiritual experiences recalled by 144 octogenarian men studied since adolescence and 80 spouses. Women were more likely to report discrete spiritual experiences, as were those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and those judged more open to experience as young adults. Factor analysis revealed four types of experiences related to beauty/nature, negative life events, protection by a sacred other, and traditional religious settings. Men from better childhood environments more commonly reported spiritual experiences concerning negative life events. Those with serious childhood illnesses were less likely to report experiences of feeling protected by a sacred other.     

Basic psychological needs and neurophysiological responsiveness to decisional conflict: an event-related potential study of integrative self processes

Fulfillment of the basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy is believed to facilitate people’s integrative tendencies to process psychological conflicts and develop a coherent sense of self. The present study therefore used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the relation between need fulfillment and the amplitude of conflict negativity (CN), a neurophysiological measure of conflict during personal decision making. Participants completed a decision-making task in which they made a series of forced choices according to their personal preferences. Three types of decision-making situations were created on the basis of participants’ unique preference ratings, which were obtained prior to ERP recording: low-conflict situations (choosing between an attractive and an unattractive option), high-conflict approach-approach situations (choosing between two similarly attractive options), and high-conflict avoidance-avoidance situations (choosing between two similarly unattractive options). As expected, CN amplitudes were larger in high- relative to low-conflict situations, and source localization analyses suggested that the anterior cingulate cortex was the generating structure of the CN. Most importantly, people reporting higher need fulfillment exhibited larger CN amplitudes in avoidance–avoidance situations relative to low-conflict situations; to a lesser extent, they also exhibited larger CN amplitudes in approach–approach situations relative to low-conflict situations. By contrast, people reporting lower need fulfillment exhibited CN amplitudes that poorly discriminated the three decision situations. These results suggest that need fulfillment may promote self-coherent functioning by increasing people’s receptivity to and processing of events that challenge their abilities to make efficient, self-congruent choices.