Psychological stress-factors and concentrations of immunoglobulins and complement components in humans

Relationships between two types of occupational stress, one chronic and one acute, and plasma immunoglobulin and complement components were measured. The first group comprised female primary school teachers ( N =40) subjected to long-lasting work stress. The second group comprised male merchant navy students ( N =38) subjected to a series of short-lasting fear-inducing 20 meter drops in a life boat specially built for rescue operations from oil platforms. Significant correlations were found between personality factors, immunoglobulins and complement components in the teacher group, but not amongst the merchant navy students. For the teachers, personality traits correlated negatively with concentrations of IgA and IgG. IgM concentrations correlated with the more immediate work-related problems reported by the teachers. In a multiple regression analysis, psychological factors explained between 32% (IgM) and 15% (IgG) of the interindividual variance, when sex, age and job seniority and employment factors were controlled for. Psychological factors may therefore, at least on longlasting occupational stress groups, correlate with immune processes. The data support the concept of the importance for psychological factors in immunological function.     

Psychophysiological arousal related to Type A components in adolescent boys

The association between psychophysiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance and blood volume) and Type A behavior was studied in adolescent boys (n = 48) in computer-controlled experiments. Although psychophysiological arousal was related to the type of stress-evoking element, task-specificity did not result in significant psychophysiological differences between Type As and Nontype As. The indication is that physiological arousal may be a constitutional characteristic of Type A behavior. The multidimensionality of type A behavior must be considered in any investigation examining the psychophysiological Type A-Nontype A differences. Different Type A dimensions, together with previously found psychological differences, were related to specific psychophysiological reactions.     

Conflict resolution and social understanding in six to twelve year old boys

Three different aspects of children's social competency were studied, i.e. social methods, (via their suggested solution to given conflict situations), social understanding (via their explanations of the solution given) and role-taking capacity. 75 boys—ages 6, 8 and 12 years—were interviewed concerning different conflict situations, six of which involved a child/child interaction and six a child/adult interaction. A separate role-taking task was also used. Developmental differences in social methods were found only in situations involving adults, where older children to a greater extent chose altruistic methods for solving the conflict. As regards social understanding, developmental changes were found and correspond to results reported by previous researchers. Role-taking capacity was found to increase with age. Role-taking as measured here was not related to social understanding. Social method and social understanding were significantly related to each other in some of the situations, mainly in those involving only children. The results indicate that different norms prevail for solving conflicts with adults versus with peers, and that the role-taking aspect is but one of several involved in the development of social understanding.     

Psychometric evaluation and normative data for a Swedish version of the Patient Health Questionnaire 15‐Item Somatic Symptom Severity Scale

The lack of an available Swedish version of the Patient Health Questionnaire 15‐Item Somatic Symptom Severity Scale (PHQ‐15) motivated the present psychometric evaluation of such a version as well as providing normative data for the PHQ‐15. Data from 3,406 individuals who took part in the Västerbotten Environmental Health Study in Sweden were used. The respondents constitute a random sample, aged 18 to 79 years, stratified for age and sex. They responded to a Swedish translation of the PHQ‐15 as well as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Shirom Melamed Burnout Questionnaire for assessment of convergent validity. The distribution of PHQ‐15 scores was positively skewed and mesokurtic in shape, and the internal consistency of the PHQ‐15 was satisfactory. Correlation coefficients between PHQ‐15 score and the measures of anxiety, depression, stress and mental/physical exhaustion indicate satisfactory validity. Normative data for PHQ‐15 scores as well as for categories of somatic symptom severity are provided. The favorable psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the PHQ‐15 suggest use of this instrument for quantification of somatization in Swedish and similar populations, and has the advantage of available normative data.     

Self-esteem and interpersonal functioning in psychiatric outpatients

This study explored associations between self-esteem and interpersonal functioning in a one-year clinic cohort of psychiatric outpatients ( n = 338). At intake, patients completed questionnaires measuring self-esteem, interpersonal problems, interpersonal style, and general symptomatic distress. They were also diagnosed according to the ICD-10. Interpersonal behaviour was measured along the agency and communion dimensions of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems – Circumplex [IIP-C]. The results show that lower self-esteem was associated with higher levels of interpersonal problems in general. Further, lower self-esteem was first and foremost linked to frustrated agentic motives, as measured by the IIP-C. Hence, the study concludes that fostering patient agency should be considered as an important goal in psychotherapy. Furthermore, the analyses revealed an interaction effect of agency and communion on self-esteem, indicating a need for balancing the two motive dimensions. Finally, some questions are raised concerning the interpretation of the IIP-C subscales in general.     

The usability of a Norwegian adaptation of the Children's Communication Checklist Second Edition (CCC-2) in differentiating between language impaired and non-language impaired 6- to 12-year-olds

The aim of the present study was to evaluate if the Norwegian adaptation of the Children's Communication Checklist-2 (CCC-2) differentiates between a language impaired and a non-language impaired population and to make a first evaluation of the psychometric qualities of the questionnaire on a Norwegian sample. A total of 153 children aged 6–12 years participated in the study (45 language impaired and 108 non-language impaired). The Norwegian adaptation of the CCC-2 distinguished language impaired from non-language impaired children and thus seems to provide a useful screening tool for communication impairments in Norwegian children. The reliability of the CCC-2 appeared to be reasonable with internal consistency values ranging from 0.73 to 0.89.     

To drive or not to drive: Neuropsychological assessment for driver's license among stroke patients

Seventy-two stroke patients, 43 with right hemisphere (RHD) and 29 with left hemisphere damage (LHD), and 7 coronary infarct controls with no evidence of cerebral damage, were neuropsychologically tested as part of an assessment program for driver's license. Mean age in the group was 53 years. Stroke patients were tested on average 4 months post injury. The groups did not differ on major demographic variables except that RHD patients were more often hemiplegic than LHD patients. The test battery was factor analyzed into 4 valid principal components: (I) visual perception , (II) spatial attention , (III) visuospatial processing , and (IV) language/praxis. The presence of hemianopia (factor I) excludes driving. In addition, measures of neglect and reduced speed of mental processing from factor II, III and IV, were found to be the most discriminating variables when classifying patients for driving. Even though neglect was more frequently observed among RHD than LHD patients, the two hemisphere groups did not differ significantly in number of patients denied driving, 58% RHD compared to 41% LHD patients. The need for comprehensive neuropsychological assessment is underlined.     

Forms, uses and functions of children's favourite objects

In this study, the notion of a favourite object is used as a heuristic concept for things that children are occupied with and absorbed by. According to earlier studies, favourite objects can be grouped into four categories: forerunners of transitional objects, primary and secondary transitional objects, and favourite toys. This initial classification was compared to results of cluster analyses of characteristics of favourite objects among 32 preschool and 30 primary school children, corroborating the initial classification and specifying the typology. The distribution of types of objects was different for the two groups of children, but was not dependent on age within groups or, for the preschool children, on mental development. These results indicate that changes of favourite objects with mental maturation are slow.
The softness of the material of primary and secondary transitional objects and the preference for objects that could be kept close to the body suggest that the comforting character of these favourite objects has its root in the child's self-soothing actions with the object.