Understanding Adolescent Mental Health in the COVID-19 Era: A Psychodynamic Approach.

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional, case-control study aimed to explore the psychodynamic characteristics that influenced adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Personality structure impairments, psychodynamic conflicts, defense styles, and mental health issues were examined using the OPD-Structure- and Conflict-Questionnaires, the Defense Style Questionnaire, and the Patient Health Questionnaire in adolescents before (n = 288) and after (n = 451) the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. RESULTS: Adolescents with mental health issues exhibited greater impairments in personality structure, more immature defense styles, and higher levels of psychodynamic conflicts both before and after the pandemic onset. Comparisons between pre-pandemic and pandemic samples indicated a lower level of the conflict of taking care of oneself versus being cared for in passive mode among adolescents during the pandemic. In-depth analysis of adolescents with mental health issues from the pandemic group revealed significant associations between personality structure impairments and a maladaptive defense style with somatoform, depressive, anxiety, eating, and alcohol use disorders. CONCLUSION: The findings provide clinically relevant insights into the psychodynamic factors that contributed to the psychological vulnerability of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. These insights can guide the development of targeted psychodynamic interventions to support adolescents' mental health in similar future crises.

Quality of Life in Patients 20-31 Years After Heart Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Survival rates after heart transplantation (HTx) have significantly improved over the last decades. There is a growing need to understand the long-term psychological and somatic outcomes, which constitute quality of life (QoL), for these long-term survivors. METHODS: The QoL of patients (N = 75) living 20-31 years (M = 24.9 years, SD = 2.3 years) after orthotopic HTx was evaluated. In a first step, a detailed overview of the patients' somatic condition was assessed. Secondly, patients were compared to 58 control subjects in terms of self-reported QoL (SF-36) and psychological domains (GBB-24; HADS). Finally, a cluster analysis was conducted to identify patterns within the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and to relate them to somatic, psychosocial, and demographic variables. RESULTS: 95.7% of the HTx-patients were in NYHA functional class I or II, and only 15.2% had a reduced LVEF. Compared to controls, long-term HTx patients had significantly lower scores on the physical component summary (PCS) of QoL and on the GBB-24 but not in the mental component summary (MCS) of QoL, or anxiety and depression (HADS). Clustering revealed two distinct groups of patients characterized by high versus low functioning and different levels of social support. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term survivors have a good functional, cardiac, and mental status, but report a lower physical QoL and higher levels of subjective complaints. The importance of social support for HTx recipients is once again highlighted.

[Associations between Personality Structure, Psychodynamic Conflicts and Defense Styles in Adolescents with Mental Health Problems]. / Die Zusammenhänge von psychischer Struktur, psychodynamischen Konflikten und Abwehrstilen bei Adoleszenten mit psychischen Beschwerden.

OBJECTIVES: An exploration of the interrelationships between central psychodynamic constructs in adolescents with mental health problems was conducted. METHODS: 230 adolescents (Mage=18.0±1.9) were assessed using the Structure and the Conflict Questionnaire of the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis System in Childhood and Adolescence and the Defense Style Questionnaire for Adolescents. RESULTS: Controlling for the influence of gender, age, and socioeconomic status, low to moderate associations were revealed between increased psychodynamic conflict levels and immature defense styles (r=0.20 to 0.39, p<0.05 to 0.001) as wells as deficits in the personality structure and increased psychodynamic conflict levels (r=0.15 to 0.55, p<0.05 to p<0.001) or immature defense styles (r=0.30 to 0.69, p<0.001). Psychodynamic conflicts as well as defense styles could be predicted by the structural dimensions as well as age and sex (R2=0 .04 to 0.49, p<0.05 to 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Theory-compliant correlations were demonstrated. The findings are particularly relevant against the background of the revision of the classification of personality functioning (ICD-11) in childhood and adolescence.

Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostic of Adolescents in Light of the New ICD-11 Model of Personality Functioning: Personality Structure, Psychodynamic Conflicts, and Mental Health Problems.

The International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 11th Revision introduced a fully dimensional approach to personality disorders which conceptionally converges with the long-standing psychodynamic understanding of psychopathology through underlying intra- and interpersonal impairments. In this study, the diagnostic contributions of the two psychodynamic concepts of personality structure and psychodynamic conflicts were investigated through the comparison of self-report data of 189 adolescents with mental health problems and 321 mentally healthy controls. The study results reveal that adolescents with mental health problems show significantly higher impairments in all four domains of personality structure and significantly higher levels of several psychodynamic conflicts. Further, adolescents with different mental health problems significantly differ regarding the impairments in the personality structure domains and several levels of psychodynamic conflicts. While higher structural impairments are shown in adolescents with eating and anxiety disorders, higher levels of the passive self-worth conflict persist in adolescents with depressive disorders, and higher levels of the passive identity conflict are affecting adolescents with eating disorders. The findings suggest that a standardized diagnostic assessment of personality structure and psychodynamic conflicts in adolescent patients could contribute to a deeper understanding of mental health problems and appropriate treatment planning through the detection of underlying intra- and interpersonal impairments.

An Empirical Investigation of Psychodynamic Conflicts in Stable Couples.

Introduction: Previous investigations have shown that stressful and pathological developments in couple relationships can be psychodynamically explained by rigid unconscious couple collusions. This manuscript presents and discusses the findings of a pilot study in which the psychodynamic conflicts of stable and "functioning" couples were empirically explored. Methods: We studied 116 couples (N = 232) who were currently married or in a steady relationship, had at least one child together, and showed no signs of mental disorders. Psychodynamic conflicts were measured using the OPD Conflict Questionnaire, and the Patient Health Questionnaire was used to screen for mental disorders. Results: Significant differences in the mean scores of psychodynamic conflicts between mothers and fathers appeared in the individuation versus dependency conflict, the self-worth conflict, and the guilt conflict. The maternal and paternal self-worth conflicts were associated with their socio-economic status. Parent couples mainly showed positive associations in the same coping modes and correlations between different conflict topics. Discussion: Our results provide initial insights into the psychodynamic conflicts of mothers and fathers from a nonclinical population and indicate that healthy and stable couple relationships are characterized by concordant and health-promoting ways of dealing with inner conflicts. Future longitudinal studies are needed to understand the influences of psychodynamic conflicts on the formation and maintenance of well-functioning and lasting relationships between couples.

Clinical Marginal and Internal Adaptation of Maxillary Anterior Single All-Ceramic Crowns and 2-year Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

PURPOSE: The aims of this randomized-controlled clinical trial were to compare marginal and internal adaptation of all-ceramic crowns fabricated with CAD/CAM and heat-pressed (HP) techniques before luting and to evaluate the clinical outcomes at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months after luting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen CAD/CAM (CC) and 15 HP all-ceramic crowns were placed in 15 patients. A silicone replica was obtained to measure marginal and internal adaptation of each all-ceramic crown before luting, and they were sectioned buccolingually and mesiodistally. Marginal and internal adaptations were measured using computerized light microscope at 40× magnification. Clinical evaluations took place at baseline (2 days after luting) and at 6, 12, and 24 months after luting. Replica scores were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U and Student's t-test (α = 0.05). Survival rate of crowns was determined using Kaplan-Meier statistical analysis. RESULTS: The median marginal gap for the CC group was 132.2 µm and was 130.2 µm for the HP group. The mean internal adaptation for the CC group was 220.3 ± 51.3 µm and 210.5 ± 31 µm for the HP group. There were no statistically significant differences with respect to marginal opening (Mann-Whitney U test; p = 0.95) and internal adaptation (Student's t-test; p = 0.535) between the 2 groups. Based on modified Ryge criteria, 100% of the crowns were rated satisfactory during the 2-year period. CONCLUSION: In this in vivo study, CAD/CAM and HP all-ceramic crowns exhibited similar marginal and internal adaptations. A 100% success rate was recorded for the 15 CAD/CAM and for the 15 HP all-ceramic crowns during the 2-year period.

Management of multiple sequelaes in permanent dentition: 3 years follow-up.

A 12-year-old patient with multiple sequelaes of permanent dentition due to trauma in primary dentition at the age of 8 months, is presented. Clinical and radiographical examinations revealed aesthetical defects, crown-root malformations (#21), hypoplasia (#12, #22), tooth transposition (#13) and odontoma-like malformation (#11). The performed conservative, endo-surgical and prosthetic treatment to gain back the aesthetic and function is reported.

Modeling partial oxidation of a commercial textile surfactant formulation with the H(2)O(2)/UV-C process.

In the present study, the reaction conditions required for the partial oxidation of a commercial nonionic textile surfactant, an alkyl polyethoxylate, with the H(2)O(2)/UV-C treatment process were optimized using central composite design and response surface methodology (CCD-RSM). CCD-RSM allowed for the development of empirical quadratic equations that satisfactorily predicted COD and TOC removal efficiencies under all studied experimental conditions. Analysis of variance revealed that the variables "H(2)O(2) concentration" and "initial surfactant COD" were found to be the process independent parameters most positively and negatively affecting the treatment performance, respectively, whereas the process variable "treatment time" had a smaller influence on COD and TOC removal efficiencies. According to the established polynomial regression models, for the degradation of the nonionic surfactant at an initial COD of 450 mg L(-1) and pH of 10.5, the optimized treatment conditions were 15 mM H(2)O(2) and a reaction time of 80 min. In order to achieve the treatment targets (complete surfactant removal accompanied by 60% COD and TOC elimination to meet the national discharge consents into receiving water bodies) either H(2)O(2) concentration or photochemical treatment time had to be increased. Activated sludge inhibition experiments conducted with nonionic surfactant solution being subjected to photochemical oxidation under optimized reaction conditions indicated that the inhibitory effect of the nonionic surfactant could be completely eliminated during H(2)O(2)/UV-C treatment and the partial degradation intermediates were more biodegradable than the original textile surfactant.