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Psychological Characteristics (psychological + characteristic)
Selected AbstractsPsychological Characteristics and Social Integration of Patients with Ischemic and Non-Ischemic Heart Failure Newly Listed for Heart Transplantation: The Waiting for a New Heart StudyAPPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, Issue 2 2009Heike Spaderna It is not known whether psychosocial risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) are present in patients listed for heart transplantation (HTx). The aim of this study was to examine whether HTx candidates with ischemic heart failure (due to CAD) have an adverse psychological risk profile and reduced social integration compared to patients with non-ischemic etiology. In the multi-site study "Waiting for a New Heart", waiting-list-related stressors, depression, anxiety, trait-anger, anger-expression, dispositional coping, social integration, and social support were assessed in 318 newly registered HTx candidates (53.5 ± 11.4 years, 18% female, left ventricular ejection fraction <25%). Medical parameters at time of listing were provided by Eurotransplant. Analyses revealed a high level of stress (on average 70% of 50 HTx-related stressors), and signs of clinical depression in 39 per cent of the sample. Social integration was correlated with reduced depression (p < .05). While ischemic and non-ischemic groups were comparable in terms of disease severity, men with CAD reported significantly more anxiety, anger, anger-in, and less social integration than non-ischemic men after adjusting for age and marital status (ps < .05). To conclude, psychosocial stress is common in HTx candidates, particularly in men with underlying CAD. Thus, targeting psychosocial stress and increasing social integration may enhance well-being in patients waiting for a new heart. [source] The Influence of Congenital Heart Disease on Psychological Conditions in Adolescents and Adults after Corrective SurgeryCONGENITAL HEART DISEASE, Issue 6 2006Kambiz Norozi MD ABSTRACT Objective., The present study was designed to examine psychological characteristics of adolescents and adults with operated congenital heart disease (ACHD). Particularly it was to be examined whether cardiological parameters may be associated with subjectively perceived impairments and measures of psychological distress. Patients., A total of 361 men (209) and women (152) between 14 and 45 years underwent medical checkups and an interview on psychological and sociological issues. Setting., The medical part consisted of a complete cardiological examination including the classification of residual symptoms according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA), and spiroergometry. The Brief Symptom Inventory was used for depicting current psychological and somatic symptoms. These were assessed on 9 subscales: somatization, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism. Results., The analyses revealed statistically significant associations between the degree of NYHA class and psychological symptoms. These findings could not be reproduced for physical fitness as measured by peak oxygen consumption. No gender differences emerged. Conclusions., Our results suggest that psychological measures of ACHD are not directly dependent on their physical fitness or on the severity of residual symptoms. Instead, patients' subjective appraisal of their disease severity and the conviction to what degree one can depend on the operated heart may be important determinants of psychological states. [source] Stereotype threat: the moderating role of Locus of Control beliefsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2006Mara Cadinu The goal of the present study was to test the moderating role of Locus of Control beliefs on performance deficits typically associated with stereotype threat. The results from Experiment 1 were consistent with predictions. First, consistent with the Stereotype Threat model, participants showed a decrease in performance when the task was perceived as a potential test of the in-group's negative stereotype (lacking logical mathematical intelligence in the case of women and lacking social intelligence in the case of men). Most important, participants' Locus of Control beliefs were found to moderate participants' vulnerability to stereotype threat: individuals with an Internal Locus of Control, although generally performing better, showed a sharper decrease in the stereotype threat condition compared to individuals with External Locus of Control beliefs. Experiment 2 replicated the results from Experiment 1. Findings are discussed in relation to the psychological characteristics of Internal Locus of Control that may render individuals more vulnerable to the negative effects of stereotype threat. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Origins of Modern DivorceFAMILY PROCESS, Issue 1 2007STEPHANIE COONTZ High rates of marital dissolution and easy access to divorce are not unprecedented, historically or cross-culturally. But contemporary divorce in North America and Western Europe has different origins and features than divorce in previous cultures. The origins of modern divorce patterns date back more than 200 years, to the invention of the historically unprecedented idea that marriage should be based on love and mutual affection. Ironically, then, the fragility of modern marriage stems from the same values that have elevated the marital relationship above all other personal and familial commitments: the concentration of emotion, passion, personal identity, and self-validation in the couple relationship and the attenuation of emotional attachments and obligations beyond the conjugal unit. The immediate causes of divorce may range from factors as diverse as the personal psychological characteristics of one or both spouses to the stresses of economic hardship and community disintegration. But in a larger perspective, the role of divorce in modern societies and its relatively high occurrence both flow from the same complex of factors that have made good marriages so much more central to people's happiness than through most of the past, and deterioration of a marital relationship so much more traumatic. [source] Psychological Characteristics Contributing to Expertise in Audit JudgmentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2006Pamela Kent Prior research has sought a better understanding of the relation between audit expertise and judgment of auditors. The motivation for this study is derived from the need to further understand psychological characteristics contributing to audit expertise. This paper adopts part of a framework derived from the decision-making literature in psychology and applies it to auditing. Shanteau proposes that expert decision makers inherently possess 14 psychological characteristics. The importance of these characteristics is assessed using the perceptions of 55 practising auditors from three national accounting firms in Australia within and across four phases of the audit using a survey instrument. The results indicate that each of the 14 characteristics is important across all four phases of the audit in varying degrees. In addition, the degree of importance varies across characteristics and between audit phases. These findings indicate that psychological characteristics are associated with audit expertise to be applied and tested in future research. [source] Cybersex and the E-teen: What Marriage and Family Therapists Should KnowJOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 4 2008David L. Delmonico Adolescents who use the Internet regularly (the "e-teen") present a new set of challenges for marriage and family therapists. This article introduces marriage and family therapists to (a) the basic technological concepts and unique psychological characteristics of the Internet important in understanding and addressing adolescent online sexual behavior, (b) the appropriate developmental expectations for teens online, including risk-taking behaviors and critical decision-making skills, and (c) suggested strategies for assessment, prevention, and intervention when dealing with problematic online sexual behavior in adolescents. Marriage and family therapists cannot ignore the role the Internet plays in adolescent sexual development and its implication for the family. This article will serve as a primer for the marriage and family therapist when presented with adolescents who engage in online sexual behaviors. [source] Personality dimensions of sexually transmitted disease repeaters assessed with the Millon Clinical Multiaxial InventoryJOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 1 2002M Bjekíc Abstract Objective To assess the personality characteristics of patients with repeated sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Method A case,control study comparing 101 STD repeaters (subjects with a lifetime history of three or more STDs) with 182 controls who had no history of STD. All subjects attended the City Department for Skin and Venereal Diseases in Belgrade (Yugoslavia) from June 1997 to April 1998. Personality characteristics was assessed by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI). Results The analysis of MCMI test showed that STD repeaters had higher scores on narcissistic, antisocial and paranoid scales. The difference between STD repeaters and the controls was significant on antisocial, psychotic thinking and psychotic delusion scales, although scores on clinical syndromes were low for both cases and controls. Discriminant analysis showed that antisocial personality was predictive for STD repeaters. Conclusions This study support the hypothesis that STD repeaters are different from controls in terms of their psychological characteristics. The behaviour of STD repeaters is ego,syntonic, which makes the treatment of their personality difficult and emphasizes the importance of work on primary and secondary prevention of STD. [source] Clinical and psychological characteristics of TMD patients with trauma historyORAL DISEASES, Issue 2 2010H-II Kim Oral Diseases (2010) 16, 188,192 Objective:, The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical and psychological characteristics of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) patients with trauma history. Materials and methods:, The clinical and psychological characteristics of 34 TMD patients with trauma history were compared with those of 340 TMD patients without trauma history. Craniomandibular index (CMI) was used for clinical characteristics of TMD patients. Symptom severity index (SSI) was used to assess the multiple dimensions of pain. Symptom checklist-90-revision (SCL-90-R) was used for psychological evaluation. Results:, Temporomandibular disorders patients with trauma history displayed significantly higher CMI and palpation index. TMD patients with trauma history also exhibited higher values in duration, sensory intensity, affective intensity, tolerability, scope of symptom, and total SSI score. In addition, these patients showed significantly higher values in symptom dimensions of somatization, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation. Among the symptom dimensions of SCL-90-R, somatization showed the most significant correlations with CMI and SSI. Conclusions:, Temporomandibular disorders patients with trauma history displayed more severe subjective, objective, and psychological dysfunction than those without trauma history. Pain of myogenous origin, history of physical trauma, and psychosocial dysfunction were all closely related. [source] Anxiety and depression of patients with digestive cancerPSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 5 2005TOSHIKO MATSUSHITA phd Abstract This study sought to characterize the psychological status of digestive cancer patients, and to investigate the relationship between psychological characteristics and clinical factors. Subjects were 85 inpatients scheduled to undergo surgery for digestive cancer and 26 control patients. The Japanese versions of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Zung's Self Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were administered for all subjects before surgery, before discharge, and 6 months after discharge. Changes in HADS and SDS scores across the three examination days for three groups of subjects (advanced-phase, early phase, and control groups) were compared. The mean scores of anxiety and depression were significantly higher in the advanced-phase group than in the other two groups. Examination day showed a significant effect on depression; depression increased from before surgery to before discharge, and did not return to the preoperative level at 6 months after discharge, but no significant effect on anxiety. As for the relationship between psychological trends and clinical factors, anxiety in the ,middle age' and ,chemotherapy' groups was more severe than in the ,elderly' and ,no chemotherapy' groups. Depression in the ,medical treatment equipment', ,chemotherapy', and ,long-term hospitalization' groups was more severe than in the ,no equipment', ,no chemotherapy', and ,standard-term hospitalization' groups. These results suggest that we should pay careful attention to cancer patients undergoing surgery, especially young patients who are constantly at risk of anxiety, and assess their depression taking into account their disease and treatment conditions, especially after the time when their discharge is determined. [source] Probing Predispositions: The Pragmatism of a Process PerspectiveCHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2009David S. Moore Abstract, As J. P. Spencer et al. (2009) argue, the theories of some developmental psychologists continue to be nativistic, even though nativism is an inherently nondevelopmental school of thought. Psychologists interested in development study the emergence of human characteristics,including predispositions,and are not content to simply catalogue competences that characterize human newborns; instead, they recognize that all human characteristics, including those present at birth, reflect the circumstances of development. A truly developmental science of behavior requires rejecting the nativism,empiricism debate outright, abandoning ideas such as "core knowledge" and psychological "endowments," and adopting a process perspective that focuses on how traits emerge from the co-actions of biological and experiential factors. Unlike nativism, the process perspective advocated by J. P. Spencer et al. encourages research that can reveal the developmental origins of psychological characteristics of interest. [source] A comparison of counselee and counselor satisfaction in reproductive genetic counselingCLINICAL GENETICS, Issue 2 2007CM Aalfs Important insights in the process of genetic counseling can be provided by establishing levels of satisfaction. The aim of our study was to compare counselees' and counselors' satisfaction with the initial consultation in reproductive genetic counseling and to gain insight into the factors associated with their contentment. One hundred and fifty-one women and 11 counselors participated in this study. Pre-test questionnaires included counselees' socio-demographic, physical and psychological characteristics, i.e. their degree of worry, expectations, preferred participation in decision making and experienced degree of control. Post-visit questionnaires asked for counselees' and counselors' satisfaction, counselees' participation in decision making and counselees' Perceived Personal Control (PPC). Little difference was found between counselees' and counselors' overall visit-specific satisfaction (mean 79 vs 74, respectively, on a visual analogue scale from 0 to 100). The correlation between counselees' and counselors' satisfaction was medium sized (r = 0.26, p < 0.01). Counselees' satisfaction was positively associated with being pregnant and with their post-visit PPC. Counselors' satisfaction was positively associated with counselees' post-visit PPC. No other counselee and counselor related variables appeared to be associated with satisfaction, nor was the duration of the consultation. Our findings suggest that, although both groups were satisfied with the consultation, counselees and counselors do not always have equal perceptions of the consultation process and may form their evaluation in different ways. In the assessment of quality of care, evaluation of both counselees' and counselors' satisfaction deserves more attention. [source] | ||||||||||||||||