This thesis sets out to critically examine Guidano's model of psychopathology in eating-disordered individuals . The literature review highlights the diverse etiological approaches that have been taken in understanding eating disorders. Guidano's model is presented as an alternative to traditional approaches . It is a developmental, unitary model of psychopathology, conceptualised within a systems/process-oriented approach to organised complexity. Within a qualitative framework, case study methodology is utilised to test the viability and limitations of Guidano's model. Four in-depth case histories are presented which offer appropriate material for the testing of the model. The data is analysed using the reading guide method and presented in terms of the four features of Guidano's model: (1) dysfunctional patterns of attachment; (2) sense of self; (3) major themes on systemic coherence; (4) common coping strategies. The findings of the research support Guidano's model of psychopathology in eating-disordered individuals. The findings are: (1) attachment styles are ambiguous, "intrusive, and enmeshed; participants experience a disappointment in the preferential attachment relationship; (2) that participants' sense of self is blurred and wavering; (3) the major theme on systemic coherence is the oscillation between seeking and avoiding intimacy; (4) common coping strategies are: the seeking of supportive intimacy with minimal self-exposure; withdrawal into the self; perfectionism; the development of an eating disorder; continuous thoughts about food, eating, and weight which prevents participants from becoming aware of the real issues confronting them. An evaluation of Guidano's model in terms of its specific contribution to knowledge and research on the role of father in child and adolescent psychopathology, as well as how father effects evidence in eating disorders, demonstrates the model's value as an explanatory tool and raises implications for future treatment, theory, and research practices of eating-disordered individuals.

This thesis examines the role of psychopathy in violent female offending, and explores DSM-IV personality disorders that may also be a factor. Past research on female offenders and psychopathy suggest that this is a valid construct when looking at female offenders. This study was driven by two questions: which personality disorders are most common in adult female offenders who are psychopathic, and are adult female offenders who are psychopathic more likely to have been convicted of a violent offense than those who are not psychopathic, but have at least one personality disorder. The results indicate that Cluster B personality disorders were the most common, and Cluster C the least common. The results also showed that those women who were psychopathic were no more likely to have been convicted of a violent crime than those who had at least one personality disorder, but were not psychopathic. Treatment implications and the direction of future research are discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:08:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcos Creder.PDF: 519631 bytes, checksum: 36c57ada5110fc99f0b2697441964364 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2002-04-12 / This work reflects a theoretical study about pain as a subject, emphasizing its conceptual aspect, not only the historical-philosophical point of view, but also the medical, psychopathological and especially psychoanalytical point of view. As pain intersects various discussions, without an epistemological defined field, it is proposed as a hypothesis, to define exactly in this transdiciplinary convergency: pain as a unique concept in the psychophysical interface that has as Modern dualist way of counterpart thinking. The psychoanalysis highly contributes to interrupting this parallelism. Going through the Freudian theory from the manuscripts to the studies of hysterical suffering, current neurosis, theory of pulsions, that gradually create significant variables which tend to maintain the pain exactly in the border of the real and symbolical body, of the representable and irrepresentable; between the life and death pulsions and between pleasure and displeasure. This hyphotesis is illustrated with fragments of cases related by physicians. It is questioned part of the psychosomatic psychoanalytical thought that maintains an asymmetric relationship between body and psyche by complex theorizing, which privilege the pain in psycho determinism, counteracting what is done by the medicine, paradoxically, with the anatomic body. The pain will not be in the duality of the subject, but as a metaphor of the unity / Este trabalho faz um estudo teórico sobre o tema da dor, enfocando seu aspecto conceitual tanto do ponto de vista histórico-filosófico quanto médico, psicopatológico e, especialmente, psicanalítico. Como a dor está na interseção de vários discursos, sem um campo epistemológico definido, nossa hipótese é conceituá-la exatamente nessa convergência transdisciplinar: a dor como um conceito único na interface anímico-corpórea que tem como contraponto o pensamento moderno dualista. A psicanálise em muito contribui para a quebra desse paralelismo. Percorre-se a construção teórica freudiana, dos manuscritos aos estudos do sofrimento histérico, da neurose atual e da teoria das pulsões, que vão gradualmente criando variáveis significativas que tendem a manter a dor exatamente na fronteira do corpo real e do simbólico, do representável e do irrepresentável; entre as pulsões de vida e de morte, entre prazer e desprazer. Ilustra-se essa hipótese com fragmentos de casos relatados por médicos. Questionase parte do pensamento da psicossomática psicanalítica, que mantém a relação somatopsíquica assimétrica ou cindida por teorizações complexas que privilegiam a dor no determinismo psíquico, contrapondo-se ao que a medicina faz, paradoxalmente, com o corpo anatômico. A dor não estará na dualidade do sujeito, mas como metáfora da unidade

This study considered the relationship between psychopathology and love. Agape love was defined as spontaneous and selfless love. The hypothesis tested was that people demonstrating psychopathology would make fewer positive responses to statements reflecting love than people free of psychopathology. The MMPI was utilized to measure the presence of psychopathology. The Atkinson A Scale (developed for this study) measured agape responses. Both these instruments were administered to 102 subjects in three groups: hospital patients, seminary students, and psychology students. Mean agape scores were subjected to a one-way analysis of variance, Significant difference among the group means was detected at the p <.05 level. A Scheffe test showed hospital patients' agape scores significantly lower than scores of seminary and psychology students. The initial hypothesis was confirmed,

This study examined the relationship between interpersonal decentering and symptoms of psychopathology among 48 clients from the Psychology Clinic at the University of North Texas. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R®) instrument were administered to clients along with demographic packets. Interpersonal decentering was assessed using Melvin Feffer's Interpersonal Decentering Scoring System for the TAT. It was hypothesized that higher scores of global symptom severity would be associated with lower scores of interpersonal decentering. Higher scores of paranoid ideation, psychoticism, and hostility were also hypothesized to be associated with lower scores of interpersonal decentering. Results did not support these hypotheses. However, exploratory analyses revealed a significant correlation between higher scores of phobic anxiety and lower scores of interpersonal decentering. Results also provided information regarding the three methods for calculating interpersonal decentering summary scores.

Chronic or prolonged stress has been shown to have deleterious impacts on mental health, physical health, and cognitive functioning. However, not all individuals show the negative effects of continued exposure to stress. Past research has identified personality as a contributor to resiliency, while also identifying it as an important predictor of negative outcomes, such as psychopathology. More recently, personality researchers have emphasized the importance of examining personality at the level of specific underlying facets, as it can provide a more refined and predictive picture than higher-order personality traits. The current study examined the predictive utility of personality facets in regard to risk and resiliency in high-achieving individuals exposed to transient and chronic stress. Results indicated personality facets provided strong prediction of mental health and behavioral functioning outcomes, and added to the understanding of the association among personality and functioning. In particular, hierarchical linear modeling analyses identified significant risk and protective facets prior to the inclusion of stress and also when interacting with stress. The implications of these analyses, such as identification of particular strategies for boosting protective facets and limiting harmful facets, is discussed.

This dissertation examines and integrates three key constructs of human awareness—mindfulness, self-compassion, and love—into the relational context of relational spirituality. Relational spirituality concerns the ways in which we relate to the sacred or to the transcendent, as well as to the sacred in fellow human beings and in ourselves. We conducted a series three distinct empirical studies on profiles of mindfulness, self-compassion, and love and examined their differential associations with spirituality, well-being, and psychopathology. Although these ways of perception bear great significance to an interpersonal context, most prior research on these forms of perception occur at the level of the individual. Using person-centered techniques, our research shed light on how specific profiles compare across indices of mental well-being, spirituality, and thriving. In so doing, we aimed to advance a relational view that unifies these three constructs and that lifts them out of a one-person psychology towards a relational framework. We also reviewed and highlighted empirical advances on relational spirituality and provided a focused review on the intrapersonal and relational aspects of mindfulness, self-compassion, and love. Finally, we concluded by integrating and summarizing our three empirical studies in light of attachment, differentiation, and intersubjectivity while discussing their implications and significance for future research.

This dissertation filled critical gaps in the regulatory flexibility literature via three empirical studies. Study 1 integrated flexibility components—context sensitivity, repertoire, and feedback responsiveness—by measuring them concurrently and applying rigorous, double-cross validation latent profile analysis to link profiles of flexibility components to depression and anxiety. Study 2 investigated the predictive ability of flexibility for longitudinal trajectories of depression, anxiety, and PTSD while examining over 50 other important factors. Specifically, this study used a machine learning approach to predict trajectories of resilience and psychopathology. Study 3 incorporated situational characteristics and flexibility in an intensive longitudinal design (i.e., ecological momentary assessment) to understand how flexibility was associated with depressed mood, anxious mood, and perceived stress across daily situations. Together, this dissertation found that greater regulatory flexibility was associated with decreased depression and anxiety (Study 1), lower likelihood of chronic depression and anxiety in the aftermath of potentially traumatic events (Study 2), and lower levels of momentary depressed mood, anxious mood, and perceived stress (Study 3).

Text in English / Psychologists-in-training are often presented with textbook definitions and descriptions of individuals presenting with psychopathologies. A major challenge for such texts is to effectively convey the relational issues and interpersonal dynamics of the mental disorders. The current study explores the role of film in enhancing intern clinical psychologists’ understanding of borderline personality disorder by specifically utilising the films Sylvia and Black Butterflies. A qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted with 15 clinical psychology interns at a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Gauteng, South Africa. The collected data consisted of responses to open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews and was analysed according to an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Although the analysis was conducted inductively, the researcher also made deductive inferences from the data based on contemplations about the link between archetypes and images and learning and archetypal experiences. The importance of and connection to 21st-century learning skills, the creative learning spiral and a pedagogy of play were also taken into consideration while analysing the data. The findings of the current study suggest the ability of the two films to draw one in and to cause one to emotionally connect with the characters. Furthermore, films form an opportunity for trainees to practice psychodynamic formulations and not only focus on biological reductionisms of the disorder. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Psychopathy research has focused primarily on characteristics of male offenders. With little empirical knowledge on psychopathy in women, gender differences within psychopathy are not well understood. To gain a better understanding of these differences, the current study used prototypical analysis to compare ratings of 242 forensic experts when considering their most representative case of male or female psychopathy. The present study investigated gender differences for psychopathic traits and Cluster B personality disorder criteria. Most aspects of psychopathy were less prototypical of female psychopaths than males. In particular, the antisocial behavior facet does not appear to apply to males and females equally. The distinction between Cluster B disorders and psychopathy was more ambiguous in females than males; however, the affective deficits facet differentiated psychopathy from Cluster B disorders across genders. Current research also raises the question of potential diagnostic gender bias in the assessment of psychopathy.