Psychoimmunology and aids: Psychological distress and herpes simplex virus in human immunodeficiency virus infected individuals

Abstract

No studies investigating the relationship of herpesviruses and psychological distress in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection are available in the literature. Antibody titers for Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr (EBV) and Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) were assessed from sera drawn at the lime of psychological testing for one hundred HIV seropositive subjects. Increased psychological distress was correlated with increased titers of antibody to HSV, but not to CMV or EBV. Psychological distress may play a role in the devastating HSV infections experienced by immune deficient individuals. A stress mediated reactivation/potentiation hypothesis is discussed, where distress reactivates latent HSV which in turn potentiates HIV replication. These results may have implications for treatment of individuals co-infected with HIV and HSV.     

Perceptions of the roles of behaviour and genetics in disease risk: Are they associated with behaviour change attempts

Objective: We examined selected survivor characteristics to determine what factors might moderate the response to two psychosocial interventions.

Design: Seventy-one prostate cancer survivors (PCSs) were randomly assigned to either a telephone-delivered health education (THE) intervention or a telephone-delivered interpersonal counselling (TIP-C) intervention.

Measures: Psychological quality of life (QOL) outcomes included depression, negative and positive affect, and perceived stress.

Results: For three of the psychological outcomes (depression, negative affect and stress), there were distinct advantages from participating in THE. For example, more favourable depression outcomes occurred when men were older, had lower prostate specific functioning, were in active chemotherapy, had lower social support from friends and lower cancer knowledge. Participating in the TIP-C provided a more favourable outcome for positive affect when men had higher education, prostate specific functioning, social support from friends and cancer knowledge.

Conclusion: Unique survivor characteristics must be considered when recommending interventions that might improve psychological QOL in PCSs. Future research must examine who benefits most and from what components of psychosocial interventions to enable clinicians to recommend appropriate psychosocial care.     

Intrusive and avoidant ideation among females pursuing infertility treatment

Abstract

It was shown that infertility and its treatment constitute a stressful experience for women, reflected particularly in disturbing intrusive ideation about the stress source. Infertility patients reported levels of intrusive ideation significantly higher than routine gynecologic patients and not significantly different from levels of psychiatric outpatients being treated for stress reactions to traumatic events. Intrusive ideation also predicted the degree of self-reported infertility-specific distress and dysfunction, further clarifying the key role of such ideation in the experience. Finally, as hypothesized, the frustration level of the treatment experience (as indexed by the number of infertility treatment methods attempted) predicted avoidant ideation. Implications for managing the psychological distress and disruption associated with the infertility treatment experience were discussed.     

The differential effects of acute marital distress on emotional,physiological and immune functions in maritally distressed men and women

Abstract

We examined the impact of acute marital conflict on emotion, cardiovascular arousal, and immune function in men and women. Subjects were 10 heterosexual, distressed couples, who panicipated in exchange for marital therapy. Each couple participated in a 40 minute conflict induction regarding an area of difficulty in their relationship. During this induction, blood pressure and heart rate were monitored and blood samples were drawn pre- and post-induction for analysis of immune change. Women responded to the experimental induction with significantly greater increases in depression and hostility, and with significantly greater increases in SBP than men. Women also responded to the acute marital distress with slight decreases in lymphocyte proliferative response to PHA, while men displayed an increase in PHA response. The sex by time interaction was significant Change in PHA was associated with change in hostility and SBP.     

Anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance typologies and relations to posttraumatic stress disorder: A cluster analytic approach

A growing literature suggests a relationship between a high anxiety sensitivity (AS; the fear of anxiety and its related consequences)/low distress tolerance (DT; the capacity tolerate internal negative states) profile and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, specific profiles have not been identified or examined specifically in Veteran samples. Thus, the aims of the present study were to establish empirically derived profiles created from response patterns on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and Distress Tolerance Scale and to examine associations with PTSD symptom clusters among a sample of combat-exposed Veterans (N = 250). A cluster analytic approach was used to identify AS/DT profiles, and a series of multivariate analyses of variance with post hoc analyses was conducted to examine the relationship between each AS/DT profile and each PTSD symptom cluster. Results indicated a 3-cluster solution including a high AS/low DT “at risk” profile, a low AS/high DT “resilient” profile, and an average AS/DT “intermediate” profile. The at-risk profile was associated with significantly greater symptoms in each PTSD cluster (i.e., hyperarousal, avoidance, re-experiencing) when compared to the other two profiles. The at-risk profile was also associated with greater depressive symptoms and lower self-reported resilience. These findings extend the previous literature by identifying a high AS/low DT “at risk” profile and its associations with PTSD symptoms, underscoring the potential utility in targeting these affect-regulation constructs for clinical intervention.     

Event centrality of positive and negative autobiographical memories to identity and life story across cultures

The aim of this study was to investigate whether cultural differences exist in event centrality, emotional distress and well-being in a total of 565 adults above age 40 from Mexico, Greenland, China and Denmark. Participants completed questionnaires to determine their level of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms, and of life satisfaction. They also completed event centrality scales for their most positive and most negative life events. Across cultures, participants rated positive events as more central to their identity and life stories, compared with negative events. Furthermore, participants with higher levels of emotional distress rated negative events as more central to their identity and life story, compared with participants with lower scores. However, a converse pattern was not found for positive events. Finally, participants with higher scores of life satisfaction tended to rate positive events as more central and negative events as less central to their identity and life story, compared with participants with lower scores. It is concluded that across cultures, positive events are considered more central to identity and life story than negative events and that event centrality ratings tend to be affected in similar ways by higher versus lower levels of emotional distress or well-being.     

Myths and Mates in Childbearing Depression

Abstract

Many myths exist about postpartum depression (PPD), all of which are based on the assumption that PPD differs qualitatively from depression that occurs at other times in women's lives. These myths paint a misleading picture of how PPD arises and may prevent women from receiving treatment for their difficulties. In this article, I identify five common myths and review the research literature to demonstrate that each lacks an empirical basis. Next, I present a model based on attachment theory, which I use to conceptualize PPD that occurs in the context of relationship distress. Finally, I illustrate this model with a clinical case.     

PTSD and psychological distress in Icelandic parents of chronically ill children: Does social support have an effect on parental distress?

The purpose of the study was to investigate psychological distress and the prevalence of PTSD among Icelandic parents of chronically ill children, and the potential effects of social support on distress, at two points in time. The Impact on Family scale (IFS), the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC), the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the Crisis Support Scale (CSS) were completed by 105 parents of children with various diseases (69 mothers and 36 fathers). Despite the heterogeneity of the sample in terms of disease type, PTSD was present in 13.2% of the parents and an additional 28.6% had subclinical PTSD. Time since diagnosis, length of hospitalizations and disease-related daily care predicted 40% of the HTQ total score.     

Types of work-family interface: well-being correlates of negative and positive spillover between work and family

The aim of the present study was to test the structure of the work-family interface measure, which was intended to take into account both the positive and negative spillover between work and family demands in both directions. In addition, the links among the types of work-family spillover and the subjects' general and domain-specific well-being were examined. The sample (n = 202) consisted of Finnish employees, aged 42, who had a spouse/partner. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a four-factor model, including negative work-to-family spillover, negative family-to-work spillover, positive work-to-family spillover, and positive family-to-work spillover, was superior compared to the other factor models examined. Path analysis showed, as hypothesized, that the negative work-to-family spillover was most strongly related to low well-being at work (job exhaustion) and next strongly to low general well-being (psychological distress), whereas the negative family-to-work spillover was associated with low well-being in the domain of family (marital dissatisfaction). Positive work-to-family spillover was positively related both to well-being at work and general well-being. Inconsistent with our expectations, positive family-to-work spillover was not directly related to any of the well-being indicators examined.