Endogenous opioid functions and personality

According to our proposal the endogenous opioid functions, activated mainly by social interactions in early childhood and by stress later in life, serve multiple roles both in early ontogenesis and in adulthood. First, they might insure social cohesion. Second, they can mediate a special kind of homeostatic regulation, and third, they seem to determine characteristic cognitive functions: primary process thinking, primitive forms of defense mechanisms and basic conceptual structures guiding prosocial behavior. We propose that an alternation of two biological states, one with and one without the involvement of the endogenous opioid mechanisms, characterizes the normal course of life. These two states are supposed to represent different forms of homeostatic regulation and different kinds of cognition. Physical and psychological health seems to be dependent on the relative part each takes in the life of an individual. On the basis of some considerations discussed in this paper the endogenous opioid functions seem to be relevant factors of human cognition. The conceptual scheme of psychoanalysis, worked out on the basis of empirical data, could be Led to describe the cognitive characteristics which, in our proposal, were suggested to ensue on the endogenous opioid activity.     

Aversive conditioning,schizotypy, and affective temperament in the framework of the salience hypothesis

During classic conditioning, the processing of conditioned stimuli (CSs+) is enhanced relative to neutral stimuli (CSs−). In patients with psychotic disorders, CSs− become abnormally relevant relative to CSs+, which may lead to the formation of aberrant associations. In this study, we explored how schizotypal and affective personality traits are associated with salience processing in nonclinical individuals. We used aversive conditioning and personality questionnaires in 100 healthy volunteers. The CSs+ were colored circles predicting the unconditioned stimulus (US), which was a loud noise. Circles of another color were the CSs− predicting no US. Conditioning was measured with skin conductance responses (SCRs) and reaction time. Results revealed that higher reality distortion, introvertive anhedonia, and cyclothymic personality negatively correlated with SCRs and positively correlated with reaction time for CSs+, which indicates less efficient conditioning. After taking into account the covariance between these personality traits, only reality distortion and introvertive anhedonia remained significant for CS+ SCRs, and introvertive anhedonia remained significant for CS+ reaction time. Enhanced responses to CSs− were positively predicted only by reality distortion. These results suggest that salience-processing biases are related to schizotypal personality traits in healthy individuals, exhibiting a similar pattern to that observed in psychotic disorders.     

Linear-parabolic shift of initially sharp interface in AB diffusion couple above the ordering temperature

It is shown that initially sharp interface in AB diffusion couple, above the ordering temperature, can shift with anomalous kinetics, i.e. deviations from the parabolic growth kinetics are possible. The initial slopes of the shift versus time functions can be even unity for large diffusion asymmetry (the ratio of diffusion coefficients of the parent materials in orders of magnitude) and gradually decrease to 0.5 at larger distances (longer times). This is in accordance with earlier results obtained in phase separating systems. It is shown that from the results of simulations the crossover thickness, X*, between the linear and parabolic regimes can also be calculated, and the applicability of the linear–parabolic law is confirmed. Furthermore, it is illustrated that the crossover thickness depends exponentially on the diffusion asymmetry parameter, with the exponent close to the value obtained from analytical estimations.     

Factorial and Diagnostic Validity of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) in Croatian Primary Health Care

The aim of this study was to examine the factorial and diagnostic validity of the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) in Croatian primary health care. Data were collected using a medical outpatient sample (N = 314). Reliability measured by internal consistency proved to be high. While the Velicer MAP Test showed that extraction of only one factor is satisfactory, confirmatory factor analysis indicated the best fit for a 3-factor structure model consisting of cognitive, affective and somatic dimensions. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis demonstrated the BDI-II to have a satisfactory diagnostic validity in differentiating between healthy and depressed individuals in this setting. The area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity were high with an optimal cut-off score of 15/16. The implications of these findings are discussed regarding the use of the BDI-II as a screening instrument in primary health care settings.     

Cross‐cultural Generalizability of the Alternative Five‐factor Model Using the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire

Several personality models are known for being replicable across cultures, such as the Five‐Factor Model (FFM) or Eysenck's Psychoticism–Extraversion–Neuroticism (PEN) model, and are for this reason considered universal. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cross‐cultural replicability of the recently revised Alternative FFM (AFFM). A total of 15 048 participants from 23 cultures completed the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA‐PQ) aimed at assessing personality according to this revised AFFM. Internal consistencies, gender differences and correlations with age were similar across cultures for all five factors and facet scales. The AFFM structure was very similar across samples and can be considered as highly replicable with total congruence coefficients ranging from .94 to .99. Measurement invariance across cultures was assessed using multi‐group confirmatory factor analyses, and each higher‐order personality factor did reach configural and metric invariance. Scalar invariance was never reached, which implies that culture‐specific norms should be considered. The underlying structure of the ZKA‐PQ replicates well across cultures, suggesting that this questionnaire can be used in a large diversity of cultures and that the AFFM might be as universal as the FFM or the PEN model. This suggests that more research is needed to identify and define an integrative framework underlying these personality models. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The Relations of Temperament and Emotion Self-regulation with Suicidal Behaviors in a Clinical Sample of Depressed Children in Hungary

Although major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with suicidal behaviors, some depressed individuals are not suicidal and others evidence various forms of suicidality. We thus investigated whether aspects of temperament and self-regulation of dysphoria represent risk factors for DSM-IV suicidality (recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal ideation, suicidal plan, and suicide attempt) in depressed youths. Using a sample of children with MDD (N = 407; ages 7-14 years), recruited from clinical sites across Hungary, we tested the hypotheses that: (a) suicidality is related to higher levels of trait negative emotionality as well as more maladaptive and fewer adaptive regulatory responses to dysphoria and (b) as the severity of suicidal behavior increases, levels of trait negative emotionality and dysfunctional emotion regulation also increase. We also explored if other aspects of temperament relate to suicidality. Children's DSM-IV diagnoses were based on semi-structured interviews and best-estimate psychiatric consensus. Parents independently provided ratings of their children's temperament, and children separately completed an inventory of emotion regulation (ER). Using multivariate models, we failed to confirm the hypothesized relations of negative trait emotionality and suicidality, but confirmed that high maladaptive and low adaptive ER response tendencies increase the odds of suicidal behaviors, above and beyond the risk posed by depressive illness severity. Unplanned interaction terms between temperament dimensions (other than negative emotionality) and ER suggested that at some high-extremes of temperament, ER has no impact on suicidality but in their absence, adaptive ER lowers the risk of suicidality. The practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Examining the Cross-National Measurement Invariance of the Extended Satisfaction with Life Scale in the United States and Hungary

The measurement invariance properties of four domains from the Extended Satisfaction with Life Scale (ESWLS) were examined in samples of young adults from the United States and Hungary. The four domains (scales) were general life satisfaction, social life satisfaction, family life satisfaction, and satisfaction with one’s self. For both countries, confirmatory factor analyses supported a correlated four-factor model, with each ESWLS domain constituting a single independent factor. Multigroup invariance testing provided support for both configural invariance and metric invariance, suggesting that across the U.S. and Hungarian samples the four ESWLS scales evidenced the same pattern of factor loadings as well as largely equivalent regression weights. These results suggest that respondents in both countries attributed the same meaning to the ESWLS constructs and that associations between the four ESWLS scales and other variables can be meaningfully compared across the two nations. Latent factor analyses indicated that with the exception of the correlation between general- and self-satisfaction, which was higher for the U.S., the magnitudes of the correlations between ESWLS domains were similar for the U.S. and Hungary. Possible explanations for the lack of measurement invariance across all of the nested models (i.e., item intercepts through residuals) are discussed.     

Eine kleine Anschauungsaufgabe

Ohne Zusammenfassung Mit 6 Abbildungen im Text.     

Dispositional aspects of body focus and idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI‐EMF)

Body focus is often considered an undesirable characteristic from medical point of view as it amplifies symptoms and leads to higher levels of health anxiety. However, it is connected to mindfulness, well‐being and the sense of self in psychotherapy. The current study aimed to investigate the contribution of various body focus related constructs to acute and chronic generation and maintenance of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Thirty‐six individuals with idiopathic environmental intolerance to electromagnetic fields (IEI‐EMF) and 36 controls were asked to complete questionnaires assessing negative affect, worries about harmful effects of EMFs, health anxiety (HA), body awareness, and somatosensory amplification (SSA), and to report experienced symptoms evoked by a sham magnetic field. Body awareness, HA, SSA, and EMF‐related worries showed good discriminative power between individuals with IEI‐EMF and controls. Considering all variables together, SSA was the best predictor of IEI‐EMF. In the believed presence of a MF, people with IEI‐EMF showed higher levels of anxiety and reported more symptoms than controls. In the IEI‐EMF group, actual symptom reports were predicted by HA and state anxiety, while a reverse relationship between symptom reports and HA was found in the control group. Our findings show that SSA is a particularly important contributor to IEI‐EMF, probably because it is the most comprehensive factor in its aetiology. IEI‐EMF is associated with both a fear‐related monitoring of bodily symptoms and a non‐evaluative body focus. The identification of dispositional body focus may be relevant for the management of MUS.     

Experimentelle Untersuchungen über simultane und sukzessive Gesichtswahrnehmungen

Zusammenfassung A. Lehmann hat in seiner Psychophysiologie ein allgemeines Gesetz aufgestellt, wonach gleichzeitige Erregungen sich hemmen, sukzessive dagegen sich bahnen. Die Schwelle für einen Schallreiz ist z. B. h?her, wenn gleichzeitig ein elektrischer Reiz einwirkt, wogegen, im allgemeinen von zwei einander folgenden gleich starken Reizen der zweite für st?rker gehalten wird. Wir führen hier diesen Satz an, um die Vermutung ausdrücklich abzuweisen, als ob unsere Prinzipien diesen oder einen ?hnlichen Sachverhalt ausdrückten. Wir sprachen nicht von einwirkenden Reizen oder physiologischen Erregungen, sondern von psychischen Inhalten, bzw. von deren gleichzeitigem oder sukzessivem Gegebensein. Und es war das Ergebnis unserer Versuche nicht, da? gleichzeitig erscheinende psychische Inhalte sich hemmen bzw. sukzessive sich bahnen, sondern es ergab sich nur,da? stückhafte Teile in einer einheitlichen simultanen Wahrnehmung in minderwertigerer Weise zur Geltung kommen als in zwei sukzessiven Wahrnehmungen, wo sie eben keine stückhaften Teile mehr sind, sondern selbst?ndige Gegebenheiten. Die Umkehrung dieses Satzes trifft aber auch zu und ist z. B. ableitbar aus unseren Versuchen über den Entfernungsvergleich der Diagonalen eines Quadrates. In jeder simultanen Wahrnehmung ergibt sich ein einheitlicher Gesamteindruck, und die diesem entsprechende Wahrnehmungsart ist eben die simultane, in welcher er auch besser verwirklicht wird, als wenn er aus einigen sukzessiven Wahrnehmungen zu entstehen h?tte. Mit 10 Figuren im Text. über einen Teil der nachfolgenden Experimente hat der Verf. schon auf dem Münchener Psychologenkongre? (April 1925) berichtet.