Age of onset of mood disorders and complexity of personality traits.

Objective. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the link between the age of onset of mood disorders and the complexity of the personality traits. Methods. 209 patients with major depressive or manic/hypomanic episodes were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Axis I diagnoses and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). Results. 17.2% of the patients had no elevated MCMI-III scores, 45.9% had one peak, and 36.9% had a complex personality disorder with two or more elevated scores. Mood disorders onset of 29 years or less was the variable most related to the complexity of personality disorders as indicated from a recursive partitioning analysis. Conclusions. The relationship between mood disorders and personality traits differ in reference to age of onset of the mood disorder. In younger patients, maladaptive personality traits can evolve both in a mood disorder onset and in a complex personality disorder, while the later development of a severe mood disorder can increase the personality symptomatology. Our results suggest a threshold of mood disorder onset higher compared to previous studies. Maladaptive personality traits should be assessed not only during adolescence but also in young adults to identify and treat potential severe mood disorders.

Application of the Reflective Self-function Scale to the clinical interview for couples during pregnancy.

The Reflective Self-function Scale was originally devised by Fonagy and coworkers to assess parents' capacity to understand and reflect on the mental states of the self and others. The aim of this paper was to describe early normative data for rating the reflective self-function to the Clinical Interview for Parents During Pregnancy. The interview was administered to 112 middle-class couples living in northern Italy and expecting their first baby. Reflective self-function was rated in three areas of the interview: the expected child, the couple's relationship, and the relationship of parents-to-be with their own parents. The paper describes the rationale, rating process, and early normative data in our sample.

Fisher and Cleveland Barrier and Penetration scores for Italian adult and adolescent sample: comparison of two versions scored on Zulliger test.

The aim of this paper is to extend work by Fisher and Cleveland on Barrier and Penetration scores to Italian samples of 286 normal adults and adolescents. The scores were based on Zulliger test protocols administered according to Exner's instructions. Two versions of the scores of both 1958 and 1970 versions were compared. Discussion also concerned variables which might have influenced the scores.

Parental representation of children during the first year of life: a longitudinal comparison of mothers' and fathers' responses on Semantic Differential Scales.

The aim of this paper was to investigate parental representation over time using a specially devised Semantic Differential Scale, developed in the context of longitudinal research, carried out during children's first two years of life. 42 parent-couples, during their first experience of parenthood were asked separately to rate the concept of "my child" in specific periods of their child's first year of life. The analysis highlighted the complexity of parental representation of babies.

The role of stressful life events in duodenal ulcer recurrence: a prospective study.

This study prospectively assessed whether stressful life events (LE) were predictive of duodenal ulcer (DU) recurrence during remission of disease. We administered Paykel's Interview for Recent Life Events to 80 patients to assess events that occurred 12 months prior to the first interview and again 6 to 12 months later for LE that occurred during the interval. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy detected DU recurrence in 11 patients. Prospective data analysis showed no significant difference in LE between relapsing and relapse-free groups, whereas retrospective analysis showed significantly more LE (p > .03) among relapsing patients. LE seems to have played a marginal role in DU recurrence.