INTRODUÇÃO: O Transtorno Bipolar (TB) é um transtorno psiquiátrico crônico e debilitante e sua etiologia e patologia ainda não são completamente conhecidos, apesar de um componente genético importante ser evidenciado em estudos de família, adoção e gêmeos. Recentemente, o TB tem sido relacionado a um processo de envelhecimento acelerado, com alguns estudos mostrando telômeros encurtados nesta população. O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar a associação entre o comprimento telomérico, um dos parâmetros do processo de envelhecimento celular, com a ausência ou presença de TB em famílias com muitos membros afetados, além de associar a sintomatologia clínica e outras variáveis a esse parâmetro. Procurou-se também avaliar as influências genéticas e ambientais sobre o comprimento telomérico nessas famílias, estimando-se a herdabilidade desta característica. MÉTODOS: O comprimento telomérico (T) foi mensurado em uma amostra de 143 indivíduos de 22 famílias (60 deles com TB), em relação a um gene de cópia única (S) - beta-globina, através do método de PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) em tempo real quantitativo, no qual forneceu uma proporção do número de cópias de T por S (razão T/S). Considerando a estrutura familiar na análise estatística foi ajustado para cada análise o modelo misto poligênico. RESULTADOS: O efeito do TB no comprimento dos telômeros foi pequeno, não tendo sido observada uma associação estatisticamente significante entre TB e comprimento telomérico quando comparado com familiares saudáveis (p > 0,05). No entanto, observou-se associação do comprimento telomérico à covariável ideação suicida (p = 0,02) e à interação entre ideação suicida e curso da doença (p = 0,02). Associação do comprimento telomérico com idade materna e TB também foi observada (p < 0,05). Por fim, estimou-se em 68% a herdabilidade do comprimento telomérico nas 22 famílias do estudo. CONCLUSÕES: A teoria do envelhecimento acelerado em TB, vista pela óptica do comprimento dos telômeros, não pôde ser confirmada no presente estudo, pois não foi encontrada diferença no comprimento telomérico entre indivíduos saudáveis e com TB nas famílias. Por outro lado, covariáveis que indicam gravidade da doença, como a ideação suicida e a interação entre ideação suicida e curso da doença foram associadas ao comprimento telomérico (p < 0,05), ou seja, um encurtamento telomérico foi correlacionado à gravidade clínica do TB. Associação do comprimento telomérico com idade materna e TB (p < 0,05) sugeriu que a idade materna avançada não só pode ser um marcador de longevidade, como também o fenótipo TB pareceu reforçar essa condição. Por fim, a alta herdabilidade estimada do comprimento telomérico (0,68) revelou uma importante variabilidade genética desse fenótipo entre as famílias do estudo. Em súmula, este é o primeiro estudo que relatou uma associação entre ideação suicida, curso da doença, idade materna e comprimento telomérico em famílias com vários membros afetados pelo TB. Outras investigações independentes são necessárias para confirmar esses resultados preliminares / BACKGROUND: Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a debilitating and chronic mental illness. It is etiology and pathology are not completely known yet, despite the evidence of an important genetic component from family, twin and adoption studies. Recently, BD has been related to a process of accelerated aging, with some studies showing shortened leukocyte telomeres in this population. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between leucocyte telomere length (LTL) in BD patients compared with healthy relatives of 22 families with several affected members by this illness, besides associating clinical symptomatology and other covariates with this parameter. It was also examined the genetic and environmental influences on telomere length trait in these BD families, using a variance component approach, by estimating the heritability of this trait as well as covariate effects. METHODS: Telomere length (T) was estimated in a sample of 143 individuals, including 60 BD patients from 22 families, which was measured in relation to the single copy gene (S) - beta-globin gene, using a singleplex real time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), providing a ratio of number of copies of T by S (T/S ratio). Taking in consideration the family structure, the statistical analysis was adjusted for the polygenic mixed model. RESULTS: The effect of BD illness in telomere length was small and we found no association between BD group and LTL (p > 0.05). However, LTL was associated with the variable suicidal ideation (p = 0.02) and interaction between suicidal ideation and course of disorder (p = 0.02). Association of LTL and maternal age and BD was also observed (p < 0.05). In addition, an important genetic component for telomere length was also observed (heritability = 0.68) in these families. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis of accelerated aging in BD, investigating the telomere length as one of its components, was not confirmed in our study. We found no difference between LTL and BD in our family group. However, using covariates that indicate severity of disease, both suicidal ideation and interaction between suicidal ideation and course of disorder were statistically significant with LTL, showing that shorter LTL was associated with worse clinical course (p < 0.05) and suicidal ideation (p < 0.05) in BD patients. Association of LTL with maternal age and BD (p < 0.05) suggests that advanced maternal age may not only be a marker of longevity, but also the BD phenotype may reinforce this condition. A high heritability for telomere length (0.68) also suggests an important genetic variability of this trait presented among those families. To our knowledge, this is the first study that found association between suicidal ideation, course of disorder, maternal age and LTL in families with several members affected by BD. Further investigations, including replication studies in other BD families, are needed to confirm these new findings

O Estresse precoce pode ocasionar graves consequências na vida adulta. Entre pacientes com Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar sua ocorrência ainda carece de ser avaliada em estudos ampliados que contemplem sua complexidade de maneira mais abrangente, considerando fatores pessoais, ambientais e psicossociais. Com o objetivo de investigar e ampliar a compreensão da relação entre o Estresse precoce, sintomas do humor (depressão e mania), estratégias de enfrentamento e ideação suicida em pacientes com Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar em um serviço comunitário no interior de São Paulo, desenvolveu-se um estudo transversal, analítico, exploratório, de abordagem quantitativa, utilizando os instrumentos: entrevista clínica para confirmação diagnóstica, de acordo com os critérios do DSM-IV; questionário sociodemográfico, de condições clínicas e de saúde, Escala de Depressão de Hamilton (HAM-D); Escala de Mania (YOUNG); Escala de ideação suicida (BSI); Escala de modos de enfrentamento de problemas (EMEP) e Questionário sobre Traumas na Infância (CTQ). Utilizou-se estatística descritiva e analítica, realizando-se testes Qui-quadrado, com coeficiente de correlação de Pearson e regressão logística, considerando níveis de significância de 0,05. Obteve-se aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa e a amostra foi de conveniência não probabilística com 50 pacientes com TAB. Prevaleceram mulheres (66,0%), com idade média de 42,7 anos (dp +12,3), 56,0% possuíam ensino médio, 44,0% eram casados ou com companheiro fixo, 90,0% moravam com a família, 88,0% tinham religião, 60,0% estavam afastados ou desempregados, 74,0% viviam com renda mensal de até um salário mínimo, 48,0% tiveram tentativas de suicídio, 58,0% passaram por internações psiquiátricas prévias, 84,0% não praticavam atividade física e 56,0% possuíam comorbidades. A prevalência de Estresse precoce foi de 68,0%, não houve associação estatisticamente significativa entre Estresse precoce, sintomas do humor, estratégias de enfrentamento e ideação suicida entre pacientes com TAB em seguimento em um serviço comunitário. Possivelmente, tais resultados reflitam o impacto que as ações de apoio e suporte social oferecidas pelo CAPS e pela família tem proporcionado a estes pacientes. Os resultados deste estudo indicaram alta prevalência de Estresse precoce que, embora não associado com as demais variáveis, mostra-se relevante na vida destes pacientes. Estudos sobre o Estresse precoce e TAB, relação entre serviço/paciente/família e estratégias de enfrentamento no contexto comunitário podem indicar melhores formas de tratamento e implementação de políticas públicas que garantam melhor qualidade de vida a estes pacientes / Early stress can have serious consequences in adult life. Among patients with Bipolar Affective Disorder, its occurrence still needs to be evaluated in expanded studies that contemplate its complexity in a more comprehensive way, considering personal, environmental and psychosocial factors. With the objective of investigating and broadening the understanding of the relationship between early stress, mood symptoms (depression and mania), coping strategies and suicidal ideation in patients with Bipolar Affective Disorder in a community service in the interior of São Paulo, a cross-sectional, analytical, exploratory, quantitative approach using the instruments: clinical interview for diagnostic confirmation, according to DSM-IV criteria; sociodemographic questionnaire, clinical and health conditions, Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D); Mania Scale (YOUNG); Suicidal ideation scale (BSI); Scale of problem coping modes (EMEP) and Trauma Questionnaire in Childhood (CTQ). Descriptive and analytical statistics were used, with Chi-square tests, with Pearson correlation coefficient and logistic regression, considering levels of significance of 0.05. Approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee and the sample was of non-probabilistic convenience with 50 patients with BAD. Prevalence of women (66.0%), mean age 42.7 years (dp +12.3), 56.0% had a high school education, 44.0% were married or had a fixed partner, 90.0% lived with the family, 88.0% had religion, 60.0% were retired or unemployed, 74.0% lived with monthly income of up to one minimum wage, 48.0% had attempted suicide, 58.0% had psychiatric hospitalizations 84.0% did not practice physical activity and 56.0% had comorbidities. The prevalence of early stress was 68.0%; there was no statistically significant association between early stress, mood symptoms, coping strategies, and suicidal ideation among patients with BD at follow-up at a community service. These results may reflect the impact that the support and social support actions offered by the CAPS and the family have provided to these patients. The results of this study indicated a high prevalence of early stress that, although not associated with the other variables, is shown relevant in the life of these patients. Studies on early stress and BD, relationship between service / patient / family and coping strategies in the community context may indicate better ways of treatment and implementation of public policies that guarantee a better quality of life for these patients

Organizações têm de lidar com um ambiente dinâmico em que a inovação é essencial para o sucesso dos negócios. Além disso, a capacidade de inovar em produto de qualquer organização está diretamente relacionada a um fluxo contínuo de novas ideias capazes de atender às oportunidades de novos produtos e tecnologias. Apesar do seu papel importante no início do processo de inovação, ao contrário de tentar gerenciar o surgimento de novas ideias, a abordagem mais comumente preconizada pelas empresas é de incentivar a geração de um grande número de ideias. No entanto, o sucesso do desenvolvimento de novos produtos requer mais do que gerar ideias, outras características do processo devem ser consideradas. Para ajudar na compreensão dessas características, essa pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar como o processo de gestão de ideias de produtos é realizado nas empresas. Para atingir esse objetivo, primeiramente, é proposto um modelo conceitual síntese da gestão de ideias baseado nas características identificadas literatura. Em seguida, para compreender o comportamento dessas características na prática, é realizado um estudo de casos múltiplos em 15 empresas reconhecidas como inovadoras e de diversos setores da indústria. Por fim, baseado nos dados levantados nas empresas, as características do processo de gestão de ideias são analisadas e confrontadas com as informações obtidas na revisão da literatura. A partir do estudo é identificado que a condução do processo de gestão de ideias pode seguir diferentes lógicas conforme as características das empresas. Certos fatores, tais como: definições estratégicas, formas de condução do processo e fatores organizacionais devem ser levados em conta na definição da melhor forma de gerenciar o processo. Considerando, que os estudos identificados na literatura concentram-se em analisar características específicas do processo, tornando difícil obter uma visão completa do processo, esta pesquisa apresenta uma importante contribuição para a teoria acadêmica por meio da análise das principais características que compõem o processo. Este trabalho apresenta ainda uma contribuição para empresas, pois pode ser utilizado como referência de como o processo vem sendo desenvolvido e fornece uma visão prática de como pode ser estruturada a gestão de ideias. / Organizations have to deal with a dynamic environment in which innovation is essential for success of businesses. Additionally, the product innovation capability of any organization is directly related to a continuous flow of ideas capable of raising opportunities for new products and technologies. Despite the primary role of ideas, instead of managing the ideation process, the most common approach is the generation of a large number of ideas. However, launching new products requires more than just generating ideas, many other characteristics of the process need to be addressed. Thus, to explore these characteristics, this research has as main objective analyze how the product ideation process is carried out in companies. To achieve this goal, firstly, is proposed an ideation conceptual model, based on the synthesis of the characteristics identified in literature. Then, to understand the behavior of these characteristics in practice, is conducted a multiple case study in 15 companies recognized as innovative and from different sectors of industry. Finally, based on data collected, the characteristics of the ideation process are analyzed and compared with the information obtained from the literature review. Based on the results of the study is identified that the conduct of the ideation process may follow different logics according to the characteristics of companies. Certain factors, such as: strategies, ways of conducting the process and organizational factors should be taken into account in defining the best way to manage the process. Considering that the studies identified in the literature focus on analyzing specific characteristics of the process, making it difficult to get a complete overview of the process, this research presents an important contribution to academic theory by analyzing the main characteristics that impact the process. This work also presents a contribution to companies, as it can be used as a reference of how the process is being developed and provides a practical overview of how it can be structured.

O Estresse precoce pode ocasionar graves consequências na vida adulta. Entre pacientes com Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar sua ocorrência ainda carece de ser avaliada em estudos ampliados que contemplem sua complexidade de maneira mais abrangente, considerando fatores pessoais, ambientais e psicossociais. Com o objetivo de investigar e ampliar a compreensão da relação entre o Estresse precoce, sintomas do humor (depressão e mania), estratégias de enfrentamento e ideação suicida em pacientes com Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar em um serviço comunitário no interior de São Paulo, desenvolveu-se um estudo transversal, analítico, exploratório, de abordagem quantitativa, utilizando os instrumentos: entrevista clínica para confirmação diagnóstica, de acordo com os critérios do DSM-IV; questionário sociodemográfico, de condições clínicas e de saúde, Escala de Depressão de Hamilton (HAM-D); Escala de Mania (YOUNG); Escala de ideação suicida (BSI); Escala de modos de enfrentamento de problemas (EMEP) e Questionário sobre Traumas na Infância (CTQ). Utilizou-se estatística descritiva e analítica, realizando-se testes Qui-quadrado, com coeficiente de correlação de Pearson e regressão logística, considerando níveis de significância de 0,05. Obteve-se aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa e a amostra foi de conveniência não probabilística com 50 pacientes com TAB. Prevaleceram mulheres (66,0%), com idade média de 42,7 anos (dp +12,3), 56,0% possuíam ensino médio, 44,0% eram casados ou com companheiro fixo, 90,0% moravam com a família, 88,0% tinham religião, 60,0% estavam afastados ou desempregados, 74,0% viviam com renda mensal de até um salário mínimo, 48,0% tiveram tentativas de suicídio, 58,0% passaram por internações psiquiátricas prévias, 84,0% não praticavam atividade física e 56,0% possuíam comorbidades. A prevalência de Estresse precoce foi de 68,0%, não houve associação estatisticamente significativa entre Estresse precoce, sintomas do humor, estratégias de enfrentamento e ideação suicida entre pacientes com TAB em seguimento em um serviço comunitário. Possivelmente, tais resultados reflitam o impacto que as ações de apoio e suporte social oferecidas pelo CAPS e pela família tem proporcionado a estes pacientes. Os resultados deste estudo indicaram alta prevalência de Estresse precoce que, embora não associado com as demais variáveis, mostra-se relevante na vida destes pacientes. Estudos sobre o Estresse precoce e TAB, relação entre serviço/paciente/família e estratégias de enfrentamento no contexto comunitário podem indicar melhores formas de tratamento e implementação de políticas públicas que garantam melhor qualidade de vida a estes pacientes / Early stress can have serious consequences in adult life. Among patients with Bipolar Affective Disorder, its occurrence still needs to be evaluated in expanded studies that contemplate its complexity in a more comprehensive way, considering personal, environmental and psychosocial factors. With the objective of investigating and broadening the understanding of the relationship between early stress, mood symptoms (depression and mania), coping strategies and suicidal ideation in patients with Bipolar Affective Disorder in a community service in the interior of São Paulo, a cross-sectional, analytical, exploratory, quantitative approach using the instruments: clinical interview for diagnostic confirmation, according to DSM-IV criteria; sociodemographic questionnaire, clinical and health conditions, Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D); Mania Scale (YOUNG); Suicidal ideation scale (BSI); Scale of problem coping modes (EMEP) and Trauma Questionnaire in Childhood (CTQ). Descriptive and analytical statistics were used, with Chi-square tests, with Pearson correlation coefficient and logistic regression, considering levels of significance of 0.05. Approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee and the sample was of non-probabilistic convenience with 50 patients with BAD. Prevalence of women (66.0%), mean age 42.7 years (dp +12.3), 56.0% had a high school education, 44.0% were married or had a fixed partner, 90.0% lived with the family, 88.0% had religion, 60.0% were retired or unemployed, 74.0% lived with monthly income of up to one minimum wage, 48.0% had attempted suicide, 58.0% had psychiatric hospitalizations 84.0% did not practice physical activity and 56.0% had comorbidities. The prevalence of early stress was 68.0%; there was no statistically significant association between early stress, mood symptoms, coping strategies, and suicidal ideation among patients with BD at follow-up at a community service. These results may reflect the impact that the support and social support actions offered by the CAPS and the family have provided to these patients. The results of this study indicated a high prevalence of early stress that, although not associated with the other variables, is shown relevant in the life of these patients. Studies on early stress and BD, relationship between service / patient / family and coping strategies in the community context may indicate better ways of treatment and implementation of public policies that guarantee a better quality of life for these patients

Background: Suicidal young adults often confide their distress to peers. It is unclear, however, what types of assistance a friend may offer in response to various symptoms of distress as well as whether the sex of either individual affects responses. Aims: We examined open-ended responses to e-mail vignettes from a fictitious friend exhibiting depressed, irritable, or overtly suicidal communications. Method: College student participants (n = 106) read e-mail messages from a fictitious friend, to which they composed a reply. Replies were coded to reflect the presence/absence of mention of professional help, problem-oriented (personal) help, and social support. Results: Problem-oriented help was offered the most across conditions; professional help was offered least in response to depressed or irritable vignettes. Women were more likely to offer any type of help than men. Patterns of help-giving and sex differences in help-giving varied by condition. Conclusions: Results indicate students’ preferences for solving peer problems personally rather than professionally. Campus prevention and intervention efforts should focus on enhancing students’ peer support and referral skills.

This thesis examines attentional and cognitive biases for particular facial expressions in delusion-prone and deluded individuals. The exploration of cognitive biases in delusion-prone individuals provides one means of elucidating psychological processes that might be involved in the genesis of delusions. Chapter 1 provides a brief review of the continuum approach to schizophrenia, and outlines recent theoretical conceptualisations of delusions. The study of schizophrenia phenomena at the symptom level has become a popular method of inquiry, given the heterogeneous phenotypic expression of schizophrenia, and the uncertainty surrounding the existence of a core neuropathology. Delusions are one of the most commonly experienced symptoms of schizophrenia, and have traditionally been regarded as fixed, false beliefs that are pathognomonic of an organic disease process. However, recent phenomenological evidence of delusional ideation in the general population has led to the conceptualisation of delusions as multi-dimensional entities, lying at the extreme end of a continuum from normal through to maladaptive beliefs. Recent investigations of the information processing abnormalities in deluded individuals are reviewed in Chapter 2. This strand of research has revealed evidence of various biases in social cognition, particularly in relation to threat-related material, in deluded individuals. These biases are evident in probabilistic reasoning, attribution style, and attention, but there has been relatively little investigation of cognitive aberrations in delusion-prone individuals. In the present thesis, social-cognitive biases were examined in relation to a standard series of faces that included threat-related (anger, fear) and non-threatening (happy, sad) expressions, in both delusion-prone and clinically deluded individuals. Chapters 3 and 4 present the results of behavioural (RT, affect recognition accuracy) and visual scanpath investigations in healthy participants assessed for level of delusion- proneness. The results indicate that delusion-prone individuals are slower at processing angry faces, and show a general (rather than emotion-specific) impairment in facial affect recognition, compared to non-prone healthy controls. Visual scanpath studies show that healthy individuals tend to direct more foveal fixations to the feature areas (eyes, nose, mouth) of threat-related facial expressions (anger, fear). By contrast, delusion-prone individuals exhibit reduced foveal attention to threat-related faces, combined with �extended� scanpaths, that may be interpreted as an attentional pattern of �vigilance-avoidance� for social threat. Chapters 5 and 6 extend the work presented in Chapters 3 and 4, by investigating the presence of similar behavioural and attentional biases in deluded schizophrenia, compared to healthy control and non-deluded schizophrenia groups. Deluded schizophrenia subjects exhibited a similar delay in processing angry faces, compared to non-prone control participants, while both deluded and non-deluded schizophrenia groups displayed a generalised affect recognition deficit. Visual scanpath investigations revealed a similar style of avoiding a broader range of negative (anger, fear, sad) faces in deluded schizophrenia, as well as a common pattern of fewer fixations with shorter duration, and reduced attention to facial features of all faces in both deluded and non-deluded schizophrenia. The examination of inferential biases for emotions displayed in facial expressions is presented in Chapter 7 in a study of causal attributional style. The results of this study provide some support for a �self-serving� bias in deluded schizophrenia, as well as evidence for an inability to appreciate situational cues when making causal judgements in both delusion-prone and deluded schizophrenia. A theoretical integration of the current findings is presented in Chapter 8, with regard to the implications for cognitive theories of delusions, and neurobiological models of schizophrenia phenomena, more generally. Visual attention biases for threat-related facial expressions in delusion-prone and deluded schizophrenia are consistent with proposals of neural dysconnectivity between frontal-limbic networks, while attributional biases and impaired facial expression perception may reflect dysfunction in a broader �social brain� network encompassing these and medial temporal lobe regions. Strong evidence for attentional biases and affect recognition deficits in delusion-prone individuals implicates their role in the development of delusional beliefs, but the weaker evidence for attributional biases in delusion-prone individuals suggests that inferential biases about others� emotions may be relevant only to the maintenance of delusional beliefs (or that attributional biases for others� emotional states may reflect other, trait-linked difficulties related to mentalising ability). In summary, the work presented in this thesis demonstrates the utility of adopting a single-symptom approach to schizophrenia within the continuum framework, and attests to the importance of further investigations of aberrant social cognition in relation to the development of delusions.

International studies of disasters indicate the risk for developing posttraumatic stress reactions among survivors is high. Modern life implicates increased traveling. During the last decades a large number of Swedish citizens were confronted with disasters taking place outside of their country. The prevalence of trauma reactions in a population that does not  normally  experience natural disasters, but are able to return to a community unaffected by the catastrophe, is not well studied. In addition, the effects of bereavement after traumatic circumstances have not been satisfactorily explored. Longitudinal studies on the effects of natural disasters are underrepresented and there are few studies investigating the course of recovery after traumatic exposure. The aim for this thesis was to examine long-term post-traumatic stress reactions, mental health, and complicated grief after disaster exposure and traumatic bereavement.  Data from returned questionnaires were analysed from bereaved Italian and Swedish relatives 18 months after the Linate airplane disaster 2001, and at 14 months and three years from Swedish travelers returning from Southeast Asia after the 2004 tsunami disaster, and from home staying bereaved relatives within the second year after the tsunami disaster. The main outcome measures were GHQ-12, IES-R and Inventory of Complicated Grief. The findings indicated many survivors were resilient and had ability to recover, but severe exposure to a disaster had considerable impact on psychological distress. Life threat was associated with higher levels of post-traumatic stress reactions, and increased the risk for affected mental health and suicidal ideation. Loss in combination with severe life threat exposure indicated a further increased risk of posttraumatic stress reactions and for complicated grief; this should be considered a substantial risk factor for general mental health. Loss of close relatives, especially loss of children, was associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress and created a greater risk for complicated grief. Many survivors recovered over time; however, severe exposure and traumatic loss appeared to slow the recovery process. The findings have implications for government and health agencies, regarding the importance of knowledge and awareness of these risks for health, and for organizational structure, training, and accessibility of support and adequate treatment.

This thesis examines attentional and cognitive biases for particular facial expressions in delusion-prone and deluded individuals. The exploration of cognitive biases in delusion-prone individuals provides one means of elucidating psychological processes that might be involved in the genesis of delusions. Chapter 1 provides a brief review of the continuum approach to schizophrenia, and outlines recent theoretical conceptualisations of delusions. The study of schizophrenia phenomena at the symptom level has become a popular method of inquiry, given the heterogeneous phenotypic expression of schizophrenia, and the uncertainty surrounding the existence of a core neuropathology. Delusions are one of the most commonly experienced symptoms of schizophrenia, and have traditionally been regarded as fixed, false beliefs that are pathognomonic of an organic disease process. However, recent phenomenological evidence of delusional ideation in the general population has led to the conceptualisation of delusions as multi-dimensional entities, lying at the extreme end of a continuum from normal through to maladaptive beliefs. Recent investigations of the information processing abnormalities in deluded individuals are reviewed in Chapter 2. This strand of research has revealed evidence of various biases in social cognition, particularly in relation to threat-related material, in deluded individuals. These biases are evident in probabilistic reasoning, attribution style, and attention, but there has been relatively little investigation of cognitive aberrations in delusion-prone individuals. In the present thesis, social-cognitive biases were examined in relation to a standard series of faces that included threat-related (anger, fear) and non-threatening (happy, sad) expressions, in both delusion-prone and clinically deluded individuals. Chapters 3 and 4 present the results of behavioural (RT, affect recognition accuracy) and visual scanpath investigations in healthy participants assessed for level of delusion- proneness. The results indicate that delusion-prone individuals are slower at processing angry faces, and show a general (rather than emotion-specific) impairment in facial affect recognition, compared to non-prone healthy controls. Visual scanpath studies show that healthy individuals tend to direct more foveal fixations to the feature areas (eyes, nose, mouth) of threat-related facial expressions (anger, fear). By contrast, delusion-prone individuals exhibit reduced foveal attention to threat-related faces, combined with �extended� scanpaths, that may be interpreted as an attentional pattern of �vigilance-avoidance� for social threat. Chapters 5 and 6 extend the work presented in Chapters 3 and 4, by investigating the presence of similar behavioural and attentional biases in deluded schizophrenia, compared to healthy control and non-deluded schizophrenia groups. Deluded schizophrenia subjects exhibited a similar delay in processing angry faces, compared to non-prone control participants, while both deluded and non-deluded schizophrenia groups displayed a generalised affect recognition deficit. Visual scanpath investigations revealed a similar style of avoiding a broader range of negative (anger, fear, sad) faces in deluded schizophrenia, as well as a common pattern of fewer fixations with shorter duration, and reduced attention to facial features of all faces in both deluded and non-deluded schizophrenia. The examination of inferential biases for emotions displayed in facial expressions is presented in Chapter 7 in a study of causal attributional style. The results of this study provide some support for a �self-serving� bias in deluded schizophrenia, as well as evidence for an inability to appreciate situational cues when making causal judgements in both delusion-prone and deluded schizophrenia. A theoretical integration of the current findings is presented in Chapter 8, with regard to the implications for cognitive theories of delusions, and neurobiological models of schizophrenia phenomena, more generally. Visual attention biases for threat-related facial expressions in delusion-prone and deluded schizophrenia are consistent with proposals of neural dysconnectivity between frontal-limbic networks, while attributional biases and impaired facial expression perception may reflect dysfunction in a broader �social brain� network encompassing these and medial temporal lobe regions. Strong evidence for attentional biases and affect recognition deficits in delusion-prone individuals implicates their role in the development of delusional beliefs, but the weaker evidence for attributional biases in delusion-prone individuals suggests that inferential biases about others� emotions may be relevant only to the maintenance of delusional beliefs (or that attributional biases for others� emotional states may reflect other, trait-linked difficulties related to mentalising ability). In summary, the work presented in this thesis demonstrates the utility of adopting a single-symptom approach to schizophrenia within the continuum framework, and attests to the importance of further investigations of aberrant social cognition in relation to the development of delusions.

Disruptive Innovation, according to the term’s founder Clayton Christensen, is defined as a specific type of innovation that is able to capture the lower-end of the market through quality, feature, or cost differences and leverage this position to achieve higher market share. Entrepreneurs who utilize disruptive innovation strategies have been historically able to create products and services that achieve massive financial and cultural success. Theories of personality characteristics have been previously applied to entrepreneurial activities, but not used to bridge the gap between developmental experiences and market success. Cross-industry analysis of ten top entrepreneurial business leaders from retail, food services, and consumer electronics allows for the identification of certain personality characteristics and influences present in the early lives and careers of highly successful entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs can be categorized according to inherent skills and personality characteristics, which suggest either revolutionary or architecturally brilliant product or service creation. Patterns of conceptual product ideation and business model evolution show that there are similarities between experiences in an entrepreneur’s formative years and the implementation of a business model and strategy. Implications of highly successful business models as they relate to marketplace dynamics include financial success, cultural impact, and institutionalization. To varying degrees, disruptive entrepreneurs are able to institutionalize their business concepts in order to ensure lasting success in their respective marketplaces.

Objectif. L’idéation suicidaire est la première étape dans la spirale infernale du comportement suicidaire. Pour mieux prévenir l’idéation suicidaire, le but de notre étude est d’investiguer ses prédicteurs chez des étudiants de licence : traits de personnalité, stress lié aux événements devie, troubles psychopathologiques, estime de soi, satisfaction de la vie et relations interpersonnelles.Méthode. L’étude s’est déroulée { l’Université Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défense entre 2008 et 2010, et nous avons recueilli les données auprès d’un échantillon de 855 étudiants (âge moyen de 23 ans, écart-type de 5,5 ans; H = 198, F = 657) provenant de plusieurs filières de licence, mais avec une forte surreprésentation de la filière de psychologie (n=614). Nous avons utilisé une batterie d’instruments pour mesurer les variables cibles.Résultats. Les résultats des analyses en pistes causales avec médiation montrent que seulementquelques variables prédictrices expliquent plus de la moitié de la variance de l’idéation suicidaire (52%). Les prédicteurs les plus efficaces en termes de significativité sont l’agréabilité (β entre -0,06 à -0,18), l’estime de soi (β entre -0,08 à -0,52), la présence de l’anxiété-l’insomnie (β entre 0,17 { 0,37), le dysfonctionnement social (β entre 0,09 { 0,23), le trait d’être renfermé (en retrait, introverti) (β entre 0,08 { 0,29), les troubles de pensée (β entre 0,16 { 0,40) et le comportement transgressif (β entre 0,14 { 0,31).Discussion. Malgré les limitations de notre étude, nous constatons qu’un petit nombre de prédicteurs expliquent une variance importante de l’idéation suicidaire et que les prédicteurs ne se comportent pas de façon identique pour les différents sous-groupes ; hommes/femmes, appartenance à la filière psychologie/autres. / Objective. Suicide ideation is the first stage that leads to the vicious circle of suicidal behaviours.Thus, the objective of our research is to investigate the association between suicide ideation andits predictor variables (personality traits, stress related to life events, psychopathological disorders, self esteem, satisfaction with life and interpersonal relationships) amongst undergraduate university students.Method. This study was conducted at the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre la Défence between2008 and 2010. We have collected data from a sample of 855 students (average age of 23 yearsand standard deviation of 5 years and 6 months; M = 198, F = 657) composed of different disciplines but with an overrepresentation of psychology undergraduates (n = 614 with an average age of 23 years; σ = 6). We used a battery of instruments to measure the variables of interest.Results. The results of path analysis show that only a few predictor variables explain more than half of the variance in suicidal ideation (52%). The most effective predictors in terms of significance are: agreeableness (β between -0.06 to -0.18), self-esteem (β between -0.08 to -0.52), comorbidity of anxiety-insomnia (β between 0.17 to 0.37), social dysfunction (β between 0.09 to 0.23), withdrawal (β between 0.08 to 0.29), thought disorders (schizophrenia) (β between 0.16 to 0.40) and rule breaking behaviour (β between 0.14 to 0.31). Discussion. In spite of the limitations of our study, we have found that a relatively small number of predictors explains a significant amount of variance in predicting suicidal ideation. Moreover, predictor variables are not identical for different subgroups.