Socio-demographic conditions, subjective somatic health, Axis I disorders and personality disorders in the common population: the relationship to quality of life

Quality of life (QOL) was studied in a population of 2,065 subjects in Norway. A broad concept of QOL was applied, including subjective well-being, self-realization, negative life events, and a number of interpersonal relationships. The assessment of QOL, based on interview, was related to a number of socio-demographic variables, subjectively experienced somatic health, the most common Axis I disorders, and all Axis II personality disorders (PDs). The results of multivariate analyses showed that being female and living with a partner in the outskirts of a city and having good physical health are important positive correlates of QOL. Controlling for all these variables, major depression, dysthymic disorder, and somatoform disorders were the Axis I disorders that have a negative statistical effect on global QOL. Specific anxiety disorders did not add to the effects. Among the PDs, avoidant, schizotypal, paranoid, and schizoid PD traits were the most important statistical negative determinants of QOL, followed by borderline, dependent, antisocial, and also self-defeating and narcissistic PDs, restricted to some specific sub-indexes of QOL. The study also showed that our results vary and are sometimes the opposite, depending on the sub-index of QOL examined. The study showed that it is necessary to apply a broad concept of QOL to disclose the real nature or the relationship between mental disorders and QOL. Furthermore, demographic variables, subjectively experienced somatic health, Axis I disorders, and PD traits appeared to be independently associated with QOL.     

Mental health locus of control in first-degree relatives of agoraphobic and depressed inpatients.

Mental health locus of control in 77 first-degree relatives of agoraphobic, agoraphobic and major depressed (comorbid), and depressed inpatients were studied. Relatives of comorbid patients externalized locus of control more to chance than did relatives of agoraphobic and of depressed patients. These results suggest that a tendency to externalize to chance is familially transmitted and may be a vulnerability factor for the development of the comorbid condition of agoraphobia and major depression.     

Maternal Representations of Patients with Schizophrenia as Measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument

Maternal perceptions were assessed, using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in 19 subjects with schizophrenia, 14 subjects with borderline personality disorder and 15 non-clinical subjects. Subjects with schizophrenia and subjects with borderline personality disorder reported significantly less care and more overprotection than did non-clinical subjects. No significant differences were found in representations by subjects with schizophrenia and subjects with borderline personality disorders. To the extent that the reported negative maternal behaviour gives a true picture of childhood and adolescent experiences, it does not seem to be specific for schizophrenia, but may be one factor in the development of severe mental disorders.     

Youth-parent consistencies on ratings of difficulties and prosocial behavior: exploration of an at-risk sample

Low informant agreement is of particular concern in clinical settings, since diagnoses and interventions are largely based on reports from parents and/or youths. This study explores youth-parent consistencies in an at-risk sample of youths (n = 42), several from immigrant and refugee families, all with stressful background experiences. Data from a community sample (n = 165) was used to contrast the clinical results. Results showed that correlations between clinical youths and parents were within the same range as those in the community sample. Consistencies concerning absolute level of behavior were higher in the clinical sample. However, interesting differences in informant consistencies were found on difficulties and resources between the two samples. This study adds to the picture that there is no simple relationship between severity of behavior deviance and informant agreement. Asking about behavioral resources as well as difficulties may provide valuable additional information regarding differences in the perspectives of at-risk youths and parents.     

Neuroticism,coping and change in MCMI-II clinical syndromes: test of a mediator model

The aim of the study was to examine prospectively whether coping mediated the relation between Neuroticism and change in different clinical mental syndromes. Assessments were conducted with 154 former psychiatric outpatients six and seven years after their initial contact with an outpatient clinic. Dispositional coping mediated the relation between Neuroticism and change in four of the nine clinical scales of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II) (Millon, 1987). High Neuroticism led to coping strategies of disengagement and the venting of emotions and to a lack of problem-focused coping, which in turn translated into a relative increase on the MCMI-II scales. The mediator model of coping was found to apply to the MCMI-II scales "somatoform disorder’, ‘dysthymia’, ‘alcohol dependence’ and ‘thought disorder’. Results are discussed under the perspective of an integration of the positions of the transactional theory of stress and personality psychology. .     

MCMI-II personality traits and symptom traits in parents of children with selective mutism: a case-control study.

The etiology of selective mutism (SM) in children is unknown but is regarded as multifactorial. SM is frequently associated with social anxiety and language disorder or delay. The present study addresses SM and social anxiety as a familial phenomenon by comparing self-reported personality traits and symptom traits (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory) in parents of 50 SM children with control parents. Personality and symptom traits reflecting social anxiety are also explored separately in the parents of SM children with and without a comorbid communication disorder. The results confirm SM and social anxiety as a familial phenomenon. Assessment and treatment planning should take this into account. The family data also suggest different family transmissions of SM and social anxiety in the SM group with and without a comorbid communication disorder.     

Externalising behaviour from infancy to mid-adolescence: Latent profiles and early predictors

The overall aim of the current study was to identify typical trajectory classes of externalising behaviour, and to identify predictors present already in infancy that discriminate the trajectory classes. 921 children from a community sample were followed over 13 years from the age of 18 months. In a simultaneously estimated model, latent class analyses and multinomial logit regression analyses suggested a five-class solution for developmental patterns of externalising problem behaviours: High stable (18% of the children), High childhood limited (5%), Medium childhood limited (31%), Adolescent onset (30%), and Low stable (16%). Six risk factors measured at 18 months significantly discriminated among the classes. Family stress and maternal age discriminated the High stable class from all the other classes. The results suggest that focusing on enduring problems in the relationship with the partner and partners' health may be important in preventive and early intervention efforts.     

Common Etiological Sources of Anxiety,Depression, and Somatic Complaints in Adolescents: A Multiple Rater twin Study

Somatic complaints in children and adolescents may be considered part of a broader spectrum of internalizing disorders that include anxiety and depression. Previous research on the topic has focused mainly on the relationship between anxiety and depression without investigating how common somatic symptoms relate to an underlying factor and its etiology. Based on the classical twin design with monozygotic and dizygotic twins reared together, our study aimed to explore the extent to which the covariation between three phenotypes in adolescent girls and boys can be represented by a latent internalizing factor, with a focus on both common and specific etiological sources. A population-based sample of twins aged 12–18 years and their mothers and fathers (N?=?1394 families) responded to questionnaire items measuring the three phenotypes. Informants’ ratings were collapsed using full information maximum likelihood estimated factor scores. Multivariate genetic analyses were conducted to examine the etiological structure of concurrent symptoms. The best fitting model was an ACE common pathway model without sex limitation and with one substantially heritable (44 %) latent factor shared by the phenotypes. Concurrent symptoms also resulted from shared (25 %) and non-shared (31 %) environments. The factor loaded most on depression symptoms and least on somatic complaints. Trait-specific influences explained 44 % of depression variance, 59 % of anxiety variance, and 65 % of somatic variance. Our results suggest the presence of a general internalizing factor along which somatic complaints and mental distress can be modeled. However, specific influences make the symptom types distinguishable.     

Conciliatory strategies and relative power

In an investigation of variations of a conciliatory strategy, 96 subjects, half female and half male, played a modified Prisoner's Dilemma in which their relative power, in terms of control over the other's outcomes, was less than, equal to, or greater than that of a simulated other. After 10 trials on which (s)he was 50% competitive, the other either did or did not send a handwritten note of general intent to be cooperative. In the second block of 10 trials, the other either was 100% cooperative or began with cooperation and stayed with it as long as the subject did not exploit. When the subject did exploit, the other made the competitive choice on the following trial as a form of retaliation, but followed this retaliation by a return to cooperation on the next trial so that there were never two consecutive competitive choices. During this second block, the simulated other always signaled in advance, with an explicit message, which choice (s)he was about to make. In a third block, the other was 100% cooperative in all conditions and sent no messages. As hypothesized, subjects whose power was equal to or less than that of the other were more cooperative in response to conciliation than were subjects whose power was greater than that of the other. Subjects who received the general note of intent were more cooperative than those who did not, but only in the equal and low power conditions. The subjects in the equal power condition who experienced retaliation were more cooperative than those who did not, but those in the unequal conditions tended to react negatively to retaliation. The results were discussed in terms of Osgood's (Peace Research Reviews, 1979, 8(2), 77–92) GRIT strategy and outcome control in interaction.