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No description available.

No description available.

Vitiligo is an idiopathic, non-contagious and often familial depigmentation disorder affecting both sexes equally. The mostly progressive and patchy loss of the inherited skin colour is not only a cosmetical problem, it has a profound impact on the patient's well-being. Stigmatisation and rejection often causes depression, self-consciousness, sexual problems and an impaired quality of life. To further substantiate earlier investigations and to introduce new aspects, we utilised the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Adjustment to Chronic Skin Disorders Questionnaire (ACS) with its sub-scales on Social anxiety/avoidance, Helplessness and Anxious-depressive Mood in 422 patients and 55 healthy controls. We also included 103 children, their parents and 18 controls by using the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and an adapted version of the ACS. We found that patients with vitiligo experience high levels of stigmatisation. They have an impaired quality of life and are more socially anxious/avoidant, helpless and (anxious-) depressive compared to healthy controls. The results correlate with disease severity, avoidant behaviour/hiding of vitiligo and the belief that psychological stress influences the disease. Female patients are generally more affected. Treatment with pseudocatalase PC-KUS improves quality of life and reduces anxious-depressive mood. Children also suffer from stigmatisation and an impaired quality of life. Parents are more socially anxious and helpless compared to the control group.

The present study examined dispositional hope as a potential mediator of the association between sexual assault and negative affective conditions, namely, depressive and anxious symptoms in a sample of 223 female college students. Results from conducting bootstrapped mediation analyses indicated that hope agency, but not hope pathways, mediated the link between sexual assault victimization and negative affective conditions in females. Importantly, the associations of sexual assault with both depressive and anxious symptoms remained highly significant independent of hope. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

The studies presented in this thesis sought to investigate a number of developmental factors that influence the efficacy of preventive intervention for child anxiety disorders. Preventive intervention has emerged as a vital step forward in clinical research following data indicating anxiety disorders are among the most common forms of psychopathology in youngsters (Kashani & Orvaschel, 1990; Mattison, 1992). Several risk and protective factors associated with childhood anxiety disorders have been identified, along with effective treatment protocols (Kendall, 1994; Howard & Kendall, 1996; Barrett, 1998, 1999; Silverman et al., 1999a, 1999b), as prerequisites to the development of preventive programs for child anxiety problems (Spence, 2001). The first objective of this research was to add to the literature on risk and protective factors by investigating the role of peer interaction in the development of child anxiety problems. Study one examined developmental differences in the influence of peer interaction on children's anxiety-related cognition and behaviour. One hundred and sixty two children enrolled in grade 6 (n = 96) aged between 9 and 10 years, and grade 9 (n = 66) aged between 14 and 16 years participated in the study. Participants were stratified into either an at risk group or to a healthy group, based on their anxiety scores on the Spence Child Anxiety Scale (SCAS; Spence, 1997), and further allocated to a peer group comprising of 3 'healthy' (non-anxious) and 3 'at risk' (high anxious) children. Prior to and following a peer discussion, participants completed a standardised self-report measure of threat interpretation and response plans to two ambiguous vignettes (Barrett, Rapee, Dadds, & Ryan, 1996; Dadds, Barrett, Rapee, & Ryan, 1996). Results showed all participants evidenced changes in threat interpretation and response plans following the discussion with peers (p < .001). Overall, findings highlight the potential importance of peer interaction in the development of anxiety-related cognition and behaviour. The findings of study one have important implications for the future development of school-based intervention programs; specifically those conducted in the classroom. Study two sought to advance the current research on preventive intervention for child anxiety by establishing the age at which youngsters benefit the most from the FRIENDS program as a classroom-based universal intervention. Study two presents the results of a longitudinal study evaluating the effects of a universal school-based intervention for child anxiety at two developmental stages. The study involved a cohort of 733 children enrolled in grade 6 (n = 336, 45.6%) aged between 9 and 10 years, and grade 9 (n = 401, 54.4%) aged between 14 and 16 years, Participants were allocated to either a school-based cognitive behavioural intervention or to a monitoring group. Participants completed standardised measures of anxiety, depression and coping style. Participants identified as 'at risk' of an anxiety disorder were assessed for a clinical diagnosis with a structured diagnostic interview. Results indicated the universal intervention effective in significantly reducing anxiety (p < .001), depression (p < .001) and behaviour avoidance in children at post- intervention and 12-month follow-up intervals. Grade 6 children reported significantly higher anxiety at pre-intervention and greater reductions in anxiety at post intervention compared with the grade 9 (p < .001), although both primary and secondary school participants showed equal reductions in anxiety at 12-month follow up. Overall, findings suggest universal intervention potentially successful in reducing symptoms of anxiety and increasing coping skills in children. Primary school children reported the greatest changes in anxiety symptoms, suggesting earlier preventive intervention potentially more advantageous than later intervention. Developmental differences in anxiety, depression and coping strategies are discussed in addition to the implications and limitations of this study and directions for future research.

<p>Major Depression is a common and complex disorder that is often difficult to treat. Mentalization, facilitated by secure attachment, has been found to serve as a protective function against Borderline Personality Disorder. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether mentalization has the same protective function against depression and to analyze the connection between mentalization and self-rated attachment. Furthermore, the relation between Anxious/Avoidant attachment patterns and the anaclitic/introjective sub-types of depression were examined. Twenty participants with Major Depressive Disorder were interviewed with the <em>Depression Specific Reflective Function Interview</em> (DSRF) and SCID-I. They also completed the self-report questionnaires Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR), Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) and Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). The results revealed a relation between high mentalization ability as measured by DSRF and low levels of depression and between an anxious attachment pattern and introjective depression. Moreover, low scores on DSRF combined with high levels of anaclitic and introjective symptoms accounted for 65% of observer rated depression severity. The results suggest that depression treatment might benefit from focusing on increasing the mentalizing ability and reducing anxious attachment patterns and from an awareness of the symptoms characterized by both the introjective and anaclitic sub-types of depression.</p>

Major Depression is a common and complex disorder that is often difficult to treat. Mentalization, facilitated by secure attachment, has been found to serve as a protective function against Borderline Personality Disorder. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether mentalization has the same protective function against depression and to analyze the connection between mentalization and self-rated attachment. Furthermore, the relation between Anxious/Avoidant attachment patterns and the anaclitic/introjective sub-types of depression were examined. Twenty participants with Major Depressive Disorder were interviewed with the Depression Specific Reflective Function Interview (DSRF) and SCID-I. They also completed the self-report questionnaires Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR), Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) and Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). The results revealed a relation between high mentalization ability as measured by DSRF and low levels of depression and between an anxious attachment pattern and introjective depression. Moreover, low scores on DSRF combined with high levels of anaclitic and introjective symptoms accounted for 65% of observer rated depression severity. The results suggest that depression treatment might benefit from focusing on increasing the mentalizing ability and reducing anxious attachment patterns and from an awareness of the symptoms characterized by both the introjective and anaclitic sub-types of depression.

Self-regulation in the context of a relationship, described as relationship "work," is a powerful predictor of relationship satisfaction. Identifying individual characteristics that predict the practice of relationship self-regulation (RSR) can inform clinical and couple relationship education interventions. Anxious and avoidant attachment have been linked to shortcomings in self-regulation in various contexts, and were hypothesized to be negatively associated to individual practice of RSR; neuroticism, a personality trait characterized by negative emotionality, was also hypothesized to be negatively related to RSR. Neuroticism was also tested as a moderator of the relationship between attachment and RSR. Data from first-married men (589) and women (912) taking the RELATE online questionnaire was used in correlational and OLS multiple regression analyses to test hypotheses and a research question. Bi-variate correlations for all predictor variables and RSR were negative and statistically significant for women and men. Regression analyses echoed those associations. Moderated multiple regression analyses testing a moderator effect of neuroticism were significant for anxious attachment and RSR, but not for avoidant attachment. Results are interpreted as support for the theoretical model tested.

Vitiligo is an idiopathic, non-contagious and often familial depigmentation disorder affecting both sexes equally. The mostly progressive and patchy loss of the inherited skin colour is not only a cosmetical problem, it has a profound impact on the patient¿s well-being. Stigmatisation and rejection often causes depression, self-consciousness, sexual problems and an impaired quality of life. To further substantiate earlier investigations and to introduce new aspects, we utilised the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Adjustment to Chronic Skin Disorders Questionnaire (ACS) with its sub-scales on Social anxiety / avoidance, Helplessness and Anxious-depressive Mood in 422 patients and 55 healthy controls. We also included 103 children, their parents and 18 controls by using the Children¿s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and an adapted version of the ACS. We found that patients with vitiligo experience high levels of stigmatisation. They have an impaired quality of life and are more socially anxious / avoidant, helpless and (anxious-) depressive compared to healthy controls. The results correlate with disease severity, avoidant behaviour / hiding of vitiligo and the belief that psychological stress influences the disease. Female patients are generally more affected. Treatment with pseudocatalase PC-KUS improves quality of life and reduces anxious-depressive mood. Children also suffer from stigmatisation and an impaired quality of life. Parents are more socially anxious and helpless compared to the control group. / German Vitiligo Association (Deutscher Vitiligo Verein)