Associations among personality, coping, and psychopathology have long been established (e.g., Folkman, Lazarus, Gruen, & DeLongis, 1986; Kobasa, 1979; Wheaton, 1983). This study assessed reported distress on the MMPI-2-RF (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008), coping and appraisal styles via the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ; Garnefski, Kraaij, & Spinhoven, 2001, 2002) and Proactive Coping Inventory (PCI; Greenglass, Schwarzer, & Taubert, 1999), personality traits on the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; Goldberg, 1999), and exposure to and perception of stressors on the Adolescent Perceived Events Scale (APES; Compas, Davis, Forsythe, & Wagner, 1987). In the current study mediational analysis was employed to assess whether coping helped explain how and why the relationship between personality and psychopathology exists. Additionally, exposure to and perception of stressors was measured and compared to psychopathology and coping styles. Although coping did not mediate the relationship between personality and psychopathology as conceptualized in this study, implications are discussed regarding the associations among constructs.

The term “moral injury” has recently been introduced to describe psychopathology resulting from perpetrating or bearing witness to an event that transgresses deeply held moral beliefs, typically in relation to military service. Two studies examined relations between potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) during military service, self-conscious emotions, and negative mental health outcomes. The potential moderating contributions of social support and psychopathic personality traits on these relations were also assessed. A subset of 40 of the 501 veterans who completed a detailed on-line survey was also interviewed to gain a more thorough understanding of individual experiences. Veterans who had experienced higher numbers of PMIEs were significantly more likely to experience depression symptoms and suicidal ideation, as well as guilt and shame related to their military service, but high levels of social support decreased the likelihood of negative mental health outcomes and subsequent guilt and shame; psychopathic personality traits did not moderate these relations. Qualitative analysis of the interviews confirmed that social support plays a key role in the prevention of moral injury-related symptoms. Social support was crucial to reintegration after deployment for many veterans. Results indicate that adequate social support following PMIEs may reduce the likelihood of psychopathology. Implications of this study and future directions are discussed.

Orientador: Paulo Dalgalarrondo / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T11:26:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Teixeira_EduardoHenrique_M.pdf: 2378711 bytes, checksum: 73d59583c19a26a22f8da5b55f2524c8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Introdução: Aspectos da psicopatologia do delírio e do perfil dos pacientes delirantes parecem relacionados à ocorrência de crime violento. Objetivo: Descrever o perfil sócio-demográfico e psicopatológico de sujeitos delirantes que cometeram crimes violentos. Métodos: Estudo retrospectivo do tipo caso-controle, comparando dois grupos de trinta pacientes delirantes. Todos pacientes apresentaram transtorno psicótico com atividade delirante definida. Os pacientes do grupo caso cometeram crimes violentos e foram selecionados da Casa de Custódia do município de Franco da Rocha-SP, nos anos de 2004 a 2006. Os pacientes do grupo controle foram selecionados de enfermaria psiquiátrica do Hospital das Clínicas da Unicamp, do Hospital e Maternidade Celso Pierro (Puc-Campinas) e do Instituto Américo Bairral do município de Itapira-SP. Foram utilizadas as escalas PANSS (Escala das Síndromes Positiva e Negativa), MINI (Entrevista Neuropsiquiátrica Mini-Internacional) e MMDAS (Escala de Avaliação de Delírio Macarthur-Maudsley). Resultados: Os dois grupos foram muito parecidos em relação ao perfil sócio-demográfico, história da doença, comorbidade de substâncias psicoativas e conteúdo do delírio. Os pacientes do grupo caso apresentaram mais antecedentes criminais, embora tenham cometido menos freqüentemente agressões leves. As vítimas dos crimes foram com mais frequência parentes ou conhecidos. Em relação às dimensões do delírio, o grupo caso teve menor pontuação em â?¿inibição de açãoâ?? e â?¿afeto negativoâ??. Conclusões: Fatores intrínsecos do delírio parecem ser mais relevantes do que o perfil sócio-demográfico nos sujeitos delirantes que cometem crimes. Delírios que induzem a inibição de ações aparentemente também reduzem o potencial de ações violentas. Ao contrário do que se afirma correntemente, pacientes delirantes assustados e com outros afetos negativos associados ao delírio parecem cometer menos atos violentos / Abstract: Introduction: Some aspects of the psychopathology of delusion and the profile of the delirious patients seem to be related to the occurrence of violent crime. Objective: To describe the social-demographic and psychopathologic profile of delirious patients who have committed violent crimes. Methods: Retrospective case-control study, comparing two groups of thirty delusional patients. All patients had presented psychotic disorders with definite delusion activity. The patients of the case group had committed violent crimes and have been selected out of the criminal-psychiatric ward Franco da Rocha-SP, from 2004 to 2006. The patients of the control group have been selected out of psychiatric ward of the Hospital das Clínicas da Unicamp, of the Hospital e Maternidade Celso Pierro (PUC-Campinas) and of the Instituto Américo Bairral of the city of Itapira-SP. Scales PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale), MINI (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) and MMDAS (Macarthur-Maudsley Delusion Assessment Scale) have been used. Results: The two groups were very similar as far as social-demographic profile, history of the illnesses, substance abuse and content of the delusion. The patients of the case group had greater criminal records, although a smaller frequency of light aggressions. The victims of the crimes had been more often acquaintances or relatives. In relation to the dimensions of the delusion, the patients in the study group scored less in "action inhibition" and "negative affection". Conclusions: Intrinsic factors of the delusion seem to be more relevant than social-demographic profile in the delusional patients who commit crimes. Delusions that induce action inhibition apparently also reduce the potential for violent actions. In contrast to what is commonly said, delusional patients with fear and other negative affection associated to the delusion seem to commit less violent acts / Mestrado / Saude Mental / Mestre em Ciências Médicas

Violent and aggressive behavior is a subset of antisocial behavior that is of particular concern to the criminal justice system and to the general public. A challenge facing mental health professionals and the criminal justice system is to assess—with a reasonable degree of accuracy—the likelihood that a young offender will recidivate and to arrange appropriate interventions. Because of its psychometric properties and high predictive validity, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is being incorporated into risk assessment batteries for use with adults. The purpose of the study was to extend the risk paradigm to adolescent offenders, investigating the predictive validity of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) from adolescence to adulthood. Subjects were 157 admissions, ages 12-18, referred to Youth Court Services for psychological or psychiatric assessment. Archival data were used to complete retrospectively the PCL:YV and to code criminal history and demographic data on each of the subjects. Follow-up criminal record data were collected, with an average follow-up time of ten years. Over the follow-up period psychopaths demonstrated a greater risk for committing violent offences than nonpsychopaths. They committed violent offences at a higher rate, earlier following their release from custody, and were more likely to escape from custody than nonpsychopaths. Further, results indicate that PCL:YV score, a difference in performance - verbal intellectual functioning (P > V Index), and history of self-harm contributed significantly to the prediction of violent outcome, over and above the contribution of a combination of criminal-history and demographic variables. Finally, background and demographic characteristics were compared between violent and nonviolent psychopaths. Findings are discussed in the context of current conceptualizations of psychopathy and adolescent antisocial behavior. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Suicide is a significant public health concern and the second leading cause of death for college-age students in the United States. Although psychopathology (e.g., stress, anxiety, and depression) contributes to suicide risk, individual-level protective characteristics may be preventative. For instance, involvement in religious communities is inversely associated with suicide risk. Other factors, like surrendering to God or a deity (i.e., relinquishing control to God, entrusting one’s life to God’s purposes), are not well understood, but may also be beneficial. Further, psycho-spiritual processes, such as forgiveness, may help to explain the linkage between religious attendance/surrender and suicide. At the bivariate level, we hypothesized that religious attendance (RA), surrender to God (STG), and feeling forgiven by God (FFG) would be positively related; that depression, anxiety, stress, and suicide risk (SR) would be positively related; and that religious and psychopathological variables would be inversely related. In multivariate analyses, we hypothesized RA and STG would be negatively associated with suicide risk, and that FFG (1storder mediator) and psychopathology (i.e., stress, depression, and anxiety; 2ndorder mediators) would mediate this linkage, such that greater religious attendance/surrender would be related to increased FFG and, in turn, to less psychopathology and suicidality. Students from a rural southeastern university (N=249) completed self-report measures, including: a single-item measure of RA; the Surrender to God Scale; Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality – forgiveness items; Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales; and, Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire – Revised. Pearson-product moment bivariate correlations were utilized to assess for associations between, and independence of, study variables. Multivariate mediation analyses were conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS macro in SPSS, utilizing a 10,000 bootstrapping sample and covarying age, race, and sex. All bivariate hypotheses were supported, in expected directions (p<.001). All multivariate hypotheses in the RA models were supported, such that a total effect, but not an indirect effect was observed for depression (β=-.036, SE=.009,t=-4.104, p<.001), anxiety (β=-.036, SE=.009,t=-4.104, p<.001), and stress (β=-.036, SE=.009,t=-4.104, p<.001), indicating mediation. All hypotheses in STG models were supported, such that a total effect, but not an indirect effect was observed for depression (β=-.092, SE=.016,t=-5.700, p<.001), anxiety (β=-.092, SE=.016,t=-5.700, p<.001), and stress (β=-.092, SE=.016,t=-5.700, p<.001), indicating mediation. In all models, specific indirect effects occurred through the FFG pathway, suggesting the importance of intrinsic, relational aspects of religiosity for the reduction of suicide risk. A specific indirect effect between STG and SR through stress was observed, suggesting that relinquishing control to a “higher power” may be beneficial for stress reduction. Our novel findings highlight several potential mechanisms of action linking religious factors and SR, and may have clinical implications. Therapeutic promotion of religious involvement, when appropriate, and fostering a sense of forgiveness (e.g., via cognitive behavioral therapy, REACH model of forgiveness) may aid in the reduction of psychopathology and suicide risk in the collegiate population.

According to the Minority Stress Model, racist or discriminatory experiences can have negative downstream effects on mental and physical health. For example, perceived ethnic discrimination is associated with increased negative emotion and distress, including feelings of guilt and shame; such characteristics may contribute to the development of psychache, or unbearable psychological pain. In turn, subjective vitality, which is considered a dynamic indicator of physical (e.g., feeling energetic, alert) and psychological (e.g., thriving, purposefulness) well-being, may be eroded. Yet, adaptive individual-level cognitive-emotional mechanisms may buffer the negative effects of discrimination on well-being. One such protective factor is mindfulness, or the nonjudgmental awareness of moment-to-moment experience, which can ameliorate stressful reactions to challenging situations and emotional pain. At the bivariate level, we hypothesized that discrimination and psychache would be positively related, and that both variables would be negatively related to mindfulness and vitality. At the multivariate level, we predicted that psychache would mediate the relation between discrimination and vitality, such that experienced discrimination would be associated with greater psychache and, in turn, to less vitality. We also hypothesized that mindfulness would moderate all linkages, reducing risk. Our sample of U.S. college students (n=2,106) was collected from a Northeastern urban university and was primarily female (n=1,571, 74.7%) and Hispanic (n=1,289, 61.2%; Black: n=454, 21.6%; Asian: n=363, 17.2%). Participants completed self-report measures, including the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Subjective Vitality Scale, Psychache Scale, and General Ethnic Discrimination Scale. Bivariate correlations and moderated-mediation analyses were conducted, in each ethnic/racial group, covarying age and sex. In bivariate analyses, all variables were significantly related in hypothesized directions (p<.05). ANOVAs revealed that ethnic groups varied significantly on discrimination (F(2, 1772=8.35, p<.001), vitality (F(2, 1806)=5.28, p<.01), and mindfulness (F(2, 1779)=9.70, p<.001). Blacks (M=35.95) and Asians (M=36.10) reported greater discrimination than Hispanics (M=32.29), t(1775)=3.66, p<.05; t(1775)=3.81, p<.05. Hispanics (M=4.81) reported higher vitality than Asians (M=4.55), t(1809)=.26, p<.05. Blacks (M=125.79) reported greater mindfulness than both Hispanics (M=122.95) and Asians (M=120.19) (t(1782)=2.83, p<.05; t(1782)=5.60, p<.05). In mediation analyses, the total effect of discrimination on vitality was significant (Asian: t=-2.36, p<.05; Black: t=-2.87, p<.01; Hispanic: t=-5.14, p<.001), and the direct effect was nonsignificant when psychache was added (Asian: t=.42, p=.68; Black: t=-.23, p=.82; Hispanic: t=-.02, p=.98), indicating mediation. In moderated-mediation analyses, the linkage between discrimination and psychache was weakened by mindfulness (Black: a2=-.005[-.009, -.002], t=-2.77, p<.01; Hispanic: a2=-.003[-.005, -.001], t=-2.38, p=<.01; Asian: a2=-.008[-.012, -.003], t=-3.48, p<.001). Among Asians, mindfulness also buffered the association between psychache and vitality (b2=-.001[-.002, -.001], t=-3.60, p<.001). Across racial/ethnic groups, we found that, for college students who experienced discrimination, psychological pain may be exacerbated, with consequent deleterious impact on vitality. Yet, for all groups, mindfulness weakened the discrimination-psychache linkage and, for Asians, who reported the lowest mindfulness levels, weakened the psychache-vitality linkage. Our findings suggest the benefits of mindfulness for psychosocial functioning in the context of ethnic/racial discrimination. Interventions to reduce psychache (e.g., cognitive restructuring) and enhance mindful awareness (e.g., meditation, acceptance and commitment therapy) may promote physical and mental vitality indicating wellbeing, in college students experiencing discrimination.

The incarceration of mentally ill youth is a serious problem not receiving the same attention as in adults. In this study, we examine the prevalence of psychopathology and level of behavioral symptomatology in incarcerated youth versus youth receiving community mental health services or hospitalization. We randomly recruited youth from middle South Carolina served by a local CMHC (n = 60), youth served by the state adolescent inpatient program (n = 50), and youth in the S.C. Dept. of Juvenile Justice facilities from the same region (n = 75). We used the DISC-PC 2.3 to evaluate DSM-III-R diagnoses and the CBCL and YSR to evaluate behavioral symptomatology. On the DISC, incarcerated youth had significantly higher mean number of diagnoses and symptoms than CMHC youth, but lower numbers than hospitalized youth. Level of "caseness" (at least one diagnosis) was 86% in hospital youth, 72% in incarcerated youth, and 60% in CMHC youth. The groups differed in CBCL mean total T, internalizing T, and externalizing T scores as well as mean YSR internalizing T scores. Our results indicate the comparability in level of psychopathology in incarcerated and community-treated populations of youth, and the need to develop diversionary programs to prevent the entry of such youth into the juvenile justice system.

LGBTQ individuals may be at risk for suicidal behavior due to perceived stigma and psychopathology. However, protective factors, such as community connectedness, may reduce risk. We examined depression and anxiety as mediators of the linkage between perceived stigma and suicidal behavior, and the moderating role of LGBTQ community connectedness. Among our sample of LGBTQ persons (N = 496), psychopathology mediated the association between perceived stigma and suicidal behavior. Connectedness moderated the relation between perceived stigma and depression, and between perceived stigma and suicidal behavior in the anxiety model. Therapeutically addressing stigma and promoting LGBTQ community connectedness may reduce risk for suicidal behavior.

Extensive work has examined the relationship between rumination and executive functioning (EF) mainly in adult samples, lending support for theory that rumination is characterized by poorer shifting, inhibition, and/or working memory updating abilities. However, literature on the relationship between rumination and EF in youth is more equivocal. Further, the directionality of this relationship is somewhat unclear, and may differ as a function of EF type. The present study conducted a longitudinal, bidirectional examination of the relationship between rumination on both negative and positive affect and several types of EF in a sample of 175 youth (aged 9-13) at baseline, 9-month, and 18-month follow-up assessments. Although rumination was not associated with shifting, inhibition, and/or working memory, support generally emerged for significant concurrent relationships between rumination and greater problems with inhibition, planning/organization, and monitoring. There was minimal support for significant longitudinal relationships between rumination and EF, and no evidence emerged for relationships between rumination on positive affect and EF. The present study provides some support for a “common cause” model of the relationship between rumination and EF (e.g., depressive symptoms; shared neurobiological dysfunction), although more research is needed to examine longitudinal relationships between these constructs. / Psychology

The current study aimed to examine possible relationships between cultural orientation and identity formation. Late adolescent college students (N = 480) completed an anonymous survey online. Measures included the Cultural Orientation Scale, the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire, and the Identity Distress Survey. Contrary to predictions, neither identity exploration nor identity distress were found to be related to cultural orientation. However, identity commitment was significantly correlated with both individualism and collectivism. Further, a ONEWAY ANOVA suggested differences between identity statuses. An LSD post-hoc analyses found that the two committed statuses, Achievement (high in identity commitment after extensive identity exploration) and Foreclosure (premature commitment without exploration) groups scored significantly higher than the two low commitment groups, Moratorium (high in exploration but not yet committed) and Diffusion (neither exploring nor committed). Although we did not find those with more extreme scores on either individualism or collectivism to be greater in identity distress or identity exploration, there were significant differences on identity commitment. Interestingly, those with extreme scores on individualism were less committed in their identity than those with lower individualism scores, whereas those with extreme scores on collectivism were more committed in their identity than those with lower collectivism scores.