Personality traits and the risk of urinary incontinence: Evidence from three longitudinal samples.

OBJECTIVE: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common condition with a substantial negative impact on older adults' quality of life. This study examines whether individual differences in behavioral, cognitive, and emotional traits assessed by the five major dimensions of personality are related to the risk of concurrent and incident UI. METHODS: Participants were older women and men (N > 26,000) from the Midlife in the United States Survey, the Health and Retirement Study, and the English Longitudinal Study of Aging. In each cohort, personality traits (measured with the Midlife Development Inventory) and demographic (age, sex, education, and race), clinical (body mass index, diabetes, blood pressure), and behavioral (smoking) factors were assessed at baseline. UI was assessed at baseline and again 8-20 years later. Results for each cohort were combined in random-effect meta-analyses. RESULTS: Consistently across cohorts, higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness were related to a higher risk of concurrent and incident UI. To a lesser extent, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness were also related to lower risk of concurrent and incident UI. BMI, diabetes, blood pressure, and smoking partially accounted for these associations. There was little evidence that age or sex moderated the associations. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides novel, robust, and replicable evidence linking personality traits to UI. The higher vulnerability for UI for individuals who score higher on neuroticism and lower on conscientiousness is consistent with findings for other multifactorial geriatric syndromes. Personality traits can help identify individuals at risk and may help contextualize the clinical presentation of comorbid emotional, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms.

Esquemas desadaptativos Iniciales como predictores de conductas disfuncionales: una revisión de la literatura / Esquemas iniciais desadaptativos como preditores de comportamentos disfuncionais: uma revisão de literatura / Early maladaptive schemes as predictors of dysfunctional behaviors: a literature review

Este artigo pretende verificar a quantidade de pesquisas publicadas no mundo nos últimos cinco anos e sua predição para com o comportamento humano. Foram encontrados 75 artigos nas bases de dados Scielo, Medline e Lilacs, a través de uma busca utilizando descritores em português e na língua inglesa no Portal Periódicos.capes. Os resultados apontaramque os estudos encontrados tiveram relação aos transtornos da personalidade, referindode forma direta a comportamentos relacionados aos esquemas desadaptativos como preditores dos transtornos da personalidade. Outros temas considerados foram o suicídio, o divórcio, a violência conjugal, patologias orgânicas e/ou dor crônica, a parentalidade,comportamentos erráticos, saúde e validação de escalas. Conclui-se que esta revisão tem sua importância na análise criteriosa dos estudos sobre os EIDs e sua relação com a personalidade, já que a teoria cognitiva traz a priori que os comportamentos disfuncionais estão relacionados com os Esquemas Iniciais Desadaptativos AU

Este artículo tiene como objetivo verificar la cantidad de investigaciones publicadas en el mundo en los últimos cinco años y su predicción para el comportamiento humano. Se encontraron un total de 75 artículos en las bases de datos Scielo, Medline y Lilacs, a través de una búsqueda con descriptores en portugués e inglés en el Portal Periódicos.capes. Los resultados mostraron que los estudios encontrados estaban relacionados con los trastornos de personalidad, refiriéndose directamente a conductas relacionadas con esquemas desadaptativos como predictores de trastornos de personalidad. Otros temas considerados fueron suicidio, divorcio, violencia conyugal, patologías orgánicas y/o dolor crónico, crianza, comportamiento errático, salud y validación de escalas. Se concluye que esta revisión es importante en el análisis cuidadoso de los estudios sobre las EID y su relación con la personalidad, ya que la teoría cognitiva muestra a priori que las conductas disfuncionales están relacionadas con los Esquemas Desadaptativos Iniciales AU

This article aims to verify the amount of research published in the world in the last five years and its prediction for human behavior. A total of 75 articles were found in the Scielo, Medline and Lilacs databases, through a search using descriptors in Portuguese and English on the Portal Periódicos.capes. The results showed that the studies found were related topersonality disorders, referring directly to behaviors related to maladaptive schemas as predictors of personality disorders. Other topics considered were suicide, divorce, marital violence, organic pathologies and/or chronic pain, parenting, erratic behavior, health and validation of scales. It is concluded that this review is important in the careful analysis of studies on EIDs and their relationship with personality, since the cognitive theory shows a priori that dysfunctional behaviors arerelated to Initial Maladaptive Schemas AU

Are physical activity and nutrition linked to personality disorders? Health habits and personality disorders: A scoping review.

Individuals with personality disorders (PDs) have a decreased life expectancy compared with the general population in part due to physical illnesses. Many hypotheses have been suggested to explain those physical illnesses such as hormone imbalance, medication, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy diet. However, little is known about the relation between lifestyle and PDs. The purpose of this scoping review is to regroup the available information on this topic. We searched the literature up to February 2021 using four databases and found 21 articles analyzing the relation between lifestyle and PDs in observational studies including 153,081 participants from diverse populations going from general population to adults in psychiatric care. Most studies used measures of lifestyle as control variables or did not use lifestyle variables at all. Moreover, the instruments used to measure lifestyle variables lacked precision at best. Two studies demonstrated a relation between early malnutrition and further development of PDs, but those results may be influenced by confounding variables and cannot indicate a clear link between nutrition and personality disorder. The lack of solid evidence we observed is surprising, considering the multiple benefits individuals with PDs could get from a healthy lifestyle. More studies are needed to thoroughly analyze the impact of lifestyle on PDs and vice versa.

The epidemiology and clinical features of personality disorders in later life; a study of secondary care data.

OBJECTIVES: Personality disorders (PDs) are often conceptualised as impacting individuals throughout their life. However, there has been limited study of the disorders in those over the age of 65. We have used the psychiatric secondary care medical records of 21,971 individuals over the age of 65 from Cambridgeshire, UK, who received care between 2014 and 2021 to characterise older patients with a PD diagnosis. METHODS: The data from all patients >65 with a diagnosis of personality disorder (PD) was extracted (n = 217) along with two comparison groups (n = 2170); patients <65 with a diagnosis of PD and patients >65 with a psychiatric diagnosis other than PD or dementia. RESULTS: Compared to younger patients with PD, older patients were more likely to be male, married, suffering from a mixed PD and live in less deprived areas. Compared to patients >65 with diagnoses other than PD, older patients were more likely to be female, single or divorced and had a higher level of social deprivation. Our most striking finding was that older patients with PDs were more likely to experience polypharmacy. A mean of 18.48 different drugs had been prescribed over their lifetime, compared to 9.51 for patients >65 with other mental health diagnoses. CONCLUSION: Here we present the largest ever description of this group of patients and provide insights that could inform clinical practice and future research.

A Scoring Procedure for Malignant Narcissism Based on Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Facets.

The current study focuses on the development and validation of a scoring procedure for malignant narcissism using the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, a self-report measure of Criterion B from the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders. In Study 1, a prototype matching approach was used to aggregate ratings from 15 clinicians specializing in personality disorder treatment and/or assessment. Indices of inter-rater agreement and inter-rater reliability revealed high convergence as to the most important maladaptive facets for malignant narcissism. The scoring procedure, based on additive counts for score computation, included eleven Criterion B facets covering core features of malignant narcissism. Study 2 evaluated the criterion and incremental validity of the scoring procedure in a sample of 288 patients from a personality disorder treatment clinic, as well as in a sample of 1103 participants from the community. In both samples, results from nonparametric mean comparisons, receiver operating characteristic curves, bivariate Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple linear regressions showed significant associations between malignant narcissism and broader components of personality functioning, as well as with relevant emotional, relational, and/or behavioral features. This new scoring procedure is a simple and valid method for measuring malignant narcissism, and is suitable for clinical and research settings.

Publications on personality disorders in Brazilian journals: a narrative review / Publicações sobre transtornos da personalidade em revistas brasileiras: uma revisão narrativa / Publicaciones sobre trastornos de personalidad en revistas brasileñas: una revisión narrativa

Despite the prevalence of personality disorders (PD) and their association with several harmful health outcomes, previous reports found a low number of studies on PDs conducted in Brazil. We conducted a narrative review to investigate the current state of research in Brazil focusing on PDs. The search was performed in BVS-Psi, PePSIC, and Google Scholar databases. We focused on papers published in Brazilian journals as a criterion to select studies conducted in Brazil and/or coordinated by Brazilian researchers. A total of 177 papers were included. Approximately 60% of papers were empirical studies, although only 47.17% of them had clinical samples. Borderline and Antisocial were the most recurrently investigated PDs. Two scales were usually administered, IDCP and PID-5. SCID-II was administered in less than 5% of empirical studies. We proposed an agenda for research on PDs in Brazil, including guidelines and directions eminently urgent to the studies to be conducted in Brazil. (AU)

Apesar da prevalência dos transtornos da personalidade (TP) e a associação com diversas consequências prejudiciais, estudos prévios encontraram um número escasso de pesquisas conduzidas no Brasil. Nós conduzimos uma revisão narrativa para investigar o estado atual de pesquisas no Brasil com foco em TP. A busca foi realizada nas bases BVS-Psi, PePSIC e Google Acadêmico. Nós focamos em artigos publicados em periódicos brasileiros como critério para seleção de estudos conduzidos no Brasil e/ou coordenados por pesquisadores brasileiros. No total, 177 artigos foram selecionados. Aproximadamente 60% eram estudos empíricos, embora apenas 47.17% destes, incluíram amostras clínicas. Os TPs mais investigados foram Borderline e Antissocial. As duas escalas mais aplicadas foram o IDCP e o PID-5. A SCID-II foi aplicada em menos de 5% dos estudos empíricos. Nós propomos uma agenda para pesquisas sobre TP no Brasil, incluindo diretrizes e direções urgentes para estudos a serem conduzidos no Brasil. (AU)

A pesar de la prevalencia de los trastornos de la personalidad (TP) y su asociación con varias consecuencias nocivas, estudios previos han encontrado un escaso número de estudios realizados en Brasil. Se realizó una revisión narrativa para pesquisar el estado actual de la investigación en Brasil con un enfoque en el TP. La búsqueda se realizó en las bases de datos BVS-Psi, PePSIC, y Google Scholar. Priorizando artículos publicados en revistas brasileñas como criterio de selección de los estudios realizados en Brasil y/o coordinados por investigadores brasileños. En total, 177 artículos fueron seleccionados. Aproximadamente el 60% fueron estudios empíricos, aunque solo el 47.17% de estos incluyeron muestras clínicas. Los TP más investigados fueron Borderline y Antisocial. Las dos escalas más aplicadas fueron el IDCP y el PID-5. La SCID-I se aplicó en menos del 5% de los estudios empíricos. Se propuso una agenda para la investigación sobre TP en Brasil, incluyendo las directrices y orientaciones eminentemente urgentes a los estudios que se llevarán a cabo. (AU)

Relationship between Facebook problematic use and pathological personality traits: a systematic review / Relação entre uso problemático do Facebook e traços patológicos da personalidade: uma revisão sistemática / Relación entre uso problemático de Facebook y características patológicos de la personalidad: una revisión sistemática

We aimed to investigate relationships between Facebook problematic use (Facebook PU) and pathological traits of personality, by a systematic review. The literature search was proceeded based on a search strategy including the keywords "Facebook", "problematic use" and "personality". We found a total of 236 publications and selected 21 papers for full verification. All of them were excluded, characterizing an empty review. As an attempt to increase the probability of finding eligible publications, first, we have broadened the search of the systematic review from "Facebook" to "social network sites" (and variations); and then from "social network sites" to "internet". Regarding this last change, the final set of publications after full reading based on the eligibility criteria was composed by 15 papers. We emphasize that there was no empirical evidence on the relationship between Facebook PU and pathological traits of personality. Given the proximity between Facebook PU and internet addiction, it is possible to hypothesize that there is a relationship between pathological traits (i.e., Neuroticism, Impulsivity, and Psychoticism) and Facebook PU. (AU)

Resumo O objetivo desse estudo foi investigar as relações entre o uso problemático do Facebook (Facebook PU) e traços patológicos, por meio de uma revisão sistemática. Os descritores foram "Facebook", "uso problemático" e "personalidade", e variações foram incluídas. Foi encontrado um total de 236 publicações. Entre elas, 21 foram selecionadas para leitura completa e todas foram excluídas, o que caracterizou o trabalho como uma empty review. Como uma tentativa de aumentar a probabilidade de encontrar publicações elegíveis, foi ampliado a busca para "internet". O conjunto final de publicações após a leitura completa com base nos critérios de elegibilidade foi composto por 15 artigos. Ressalta-se que não há evidência empírica sobre a relação entre o Facebook PU e traços patológicos. Dada a proximidade entre o Facebook PU e a dependência da internet, é possível supor que existe uma relação entre traços patológicos (isto é, neuroticismo, impulsividade e psicoticismo) e o Facebook PU. (AU)

Resumen El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar las relaciones entre el uso problemático de Facebook (Facebook PU) y los rasgos patológicos de la personalidad, a través de una revisión sistemática. La búsqueda bibliográfica incluyó los descriptores "Facebook", "uso problemático", "personalidad" y variaciones. Se encontró un total de 236 publicaciones, de las cuales, 21 fueron seleccionadas para la verificación completa, a pesar de que todos fueron excluidos, lo que caracterizó el trabajo como una revisión vacía. En un intento de aumentar la probabilidad de encontrar publicaciones elegibles, se amplió las palabras claves a "sitios de redes sociales" (y variaciones); y luego a "internet". El conjunto final de publicaciones después de la lectura completa basada en los criterios de elegibilidad consistió en 15 artículos. Cabe enfatizar que no hubo evidencias empíricas sobre la relación entre el Facebook PU y los rasgos patológicos. Dada la proximidad entre Facebook PU y la adicción a Internet, es posible suponer que existe una relación entre los rasgos patológicos (i.e., neuroticismo, impulsividad y psicoticismo) y Facebook PU. (AU)

O sujeito sujeitado / The subject subjected / El sujeto sujetado

Reflete-se acerca de certas características do sujeito contemporâneo e de sua grave deficiência de ser. Compreendido como entidade que habita no entroncamento de dois mundos, o interno e o externo, ele é, neste espaço, um terceiro hoje fragmentado pela lógica pós-moderna. Discute-se algumas questões relativas à condição de um sujeito narcisista atravessado pelos ditames da cultura atual (AU)

This article brings a reflection about the contemporary subject and its severe deficiency of being. Thought as an entity that inhabits the crossroad of two worlds, internal and external, it is in this third space a third one fragmented by post-modern logic. Some aspects are discussed regarding the condition of a narcissistic subject crossed by the dictates of current culture (AU)

Se reflexiona acerca de ciertas características del sujeto contemporáneo y su grave deficiencia de ser. Comprendido como entidad que habita en el cruce de dos mundos, el interno y el externo, él es un tercero en este espacio hoy fragmentado por la lógica posmoderna. Se discute algunas cuestiones relacionadas a la condición de un sujeto narcisista cruzado por dictámenes de la cultura actual (AU)

Examining the Interpersonal Profiles and Nomological Network Associated with Narcissistic Grandiosity and Narcissistic Vulnerability.

Theory and research have consistently shown that pathological narcissism can best be described by 2 phenotypic expressions, narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability. The current study sought to examine the specific types of interpersonal problems reported by those high in narcissistic grandiosity and high in narcissistic vulnerability as well as examine the nomological network associated with these 2 manifestations of narcissism. In a sample of university students who completed self-report measures of pathological narcissism, interpersonal problems, depression, self-esteem, malignant self-regard, self-defeating personality disorder symptoms, and anger, we found that narcissistic grandiosity (n = 108) was associated with one distinct interpersonal profile, for example, being overly intrusive in relationships with others, while narcissistic vulnerability (n = 88) was associated with a wider range of interpersonal problems on the interpersonal circumplex. Using cluster analysis, we found 3 interpersonal subtypes associated with narcissistic vulnerability, an intrusive subtype, a cold subtype, and a socially avoidant subtype. Further examination of group differences showed that the 3 interpersonal subtypes associated with narcissistic vulnerability could also be distinguished based on their experience and expression of anger. This suggests the importance of assessing profiles of interpersonal functioning and anger in narcissistic vulnerability. The clinical implications of our results are discussed.

Personality disorders in temporal lobe epilepsy: What do they signify?

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of personality disorders in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) and compare it with general population and analyze their implications on treatment outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TLE was diagnosed based on clinical history, MRI, and Video EEG data. IPDE-ICD10 screening questionnaire was applied to investigate personality disorder in 120 subjects, 60 cases, and 60 normal controls. Bear-Fedio inventory (BFI) was used to study different behavior traits in patients with TLE and controls. RESULTS: Prevalence of personality disorders was higher (71.7% in cases versus 38.3% in controls) in patients with TLE compared to controls (P < .001). Some personality traits like schizoid (P = .002), dissocial (P = .001), impulsive (P = .003), anankastic (P < .001), anxious (P < .001), and dependent (P < .001) personalities were found to have high prevalence in TLE. Personality disorder was higher among those cases who had been tried on more than two antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (P = .033) and in those with duration of illness more than 10 years (P = .026). Cases also showed significantly higher score in BFI for all behavioral traits except for aggression. No significant difference of BFI score was seen based on laterality of epileptic focus, gender, duration of illness, or number of AEDs tried. CONCLUSION: There is a significantly higher prevalence of personality disorders in patients with TLE. Specific interventions for these disorders should be considered at the earliest pari passu with AEDs and surgery.

Development of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory - avoidant version based on the HiTOP / Desenvolvimento do Inventário Dimensional Clínico da Personalidade - versão evitativo baseado no HiTOP / Desarrollo del Inventario Dimensional Clínico de la Personalidad - versión evitativa basada en el HiTOP

This study aimed to develop a specific version of the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory 2 (IDCP-2), focused on the assessment of avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) according to the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). First, we developed the IDCP-Av, composed of one new factor and four factors from the IDCP-2. A total of 436 adults completed this, and two external measures (PID-5 and FFAvA). The IDCP-Av factors and its total score presented high reliability. Correlations and group comparisons were coherent, corroborating expectations. Favorable evidence was observed for the use of the IDCP-Av for the measurement of AvPD, although future studies should replicate the findings in samples composed of patients.(AU)

O objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver uma versão específica do Inventário Dimensional Clínico da Personalidade 2 (IDCP-2), focada na avaliação do transtorno da personalidade evitativo (TPE) de acordo com o Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). Primeiro foi desenvolvido o IDCP-Av, composto por um novo fator e quatro fatores do IDCP-2. 436 adultos responderam-no, além de medidas externas (PID-5 e FFAvA). Os fatores do IDCP-Av e o escore total apresentaram alta precisão. Correlações e comparações entre grupos foram coerentes e corroboraram as expectativas. Evidências favoráveis foram observadas para o uso do IDCP-Av para avaliação do TPE, embora futuros estudos devem tentar replicar os achados em amostras compostas por pacientes.(AU)

El objetivo de este estudio fue desarrollar una versión específica del Inventario Dimensional Clínico de la Personalidad 2 (IDCP-2), centrado en la evaluación del trastorno de la personalidad evitativa (TPE) de acuerdo con el Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). Primeramente se desarrolló el IDCP-Av, compuesto por un nuevo factor y por cuatro factores del IDCP-2. 436 adultos lo contestaron juntamente con medidas externas (PID-5 y FFAvA). Los factores IDCP-Av y su puntuación total presentaron una alta fiabilidad. Las correlaciones y las comparaciones de los grupos fueron coherentes, corroborando con las expectativas. Se observaron evidencias favorables para el uso del AvPD-Av para evaluar el TPE. Sin embargo, estudios posteriores deberían replicar los hallazgos presentes en muestras compuestas por pacientes.(AU)

Assessing Autism Spectrum Disorder in Intellectually Able Adults with the Personality Assessment Inventory: Normative Data and a Novel Supplemental Indicator.

Differential diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among intellectually-able adults often presents a clinical challenge, particularly when individuals present in crisis without diagnostic history. The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is a multiscale personality and psychopathology instrument utilized across clinical settings, but to date there are no published normative data for use of the PAI with adults with ASD. This study provides normative PAI data for adults diagnosed with ASD, with effect size comparisons to the PAI clinical standardization sample and an inpatient sample. Additionally, a discriminant function was developed and cross-validated for identification of ASD-like symptomatology in a clinical population, which demonstrates promise as a screening tool to aid in the identification of individuals in need of specialized ASD assessment.

Personality disorder and functioning in major depressive disorder: a nested study within a randomized controlled trial

Objective: This study aimed to determine if personality disorder (PD) predicted functional outcomes in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Data (n=71) from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled 12-week trial assessing the efficacy of 200 mg/day adjunctive minocycline for MDD were examined. PD was measured using the Standardized Assessment of Personality Abbreviated Scale. Outcome measures included Clinical Global Impression - Improvement (CGI-I), Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), Social and Occupational Functioning Scale (SOFAS), and Range of Impaired Functioning (RIFT). Analysis of covariance was used to examine the impact of PD (dichotomized factor [≥ 3] or continuous measure) on the outcome measures-treatment group correlation. Results: PD was identified in 69% of the sample. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline scores for each of the outcome measures, there was no significant difference between participants with and without PD on week 12 scores for any of the outcome measures (all p > 0.14). Conclusion: In this secondary analysis of a primary efficacy study, PD was a common comorbidity among those with MDD, but was not a significant predictor of functional outcomes. This study adds to the limited literature on PD in randomized controlled trials for MDD. Clinical trial registration: ACTRN12612000283875.

Personality psychopathology: Longitudinal prediction of change in body mass index and weight post-bariatric surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for obesity, which has been increasing worldwide. However, bariatric surgery causes dramatic physical changes that can cause significant stress. Prior research has found that psychological variables such as personality traits and levels of psychopathology can influence success after bariatric surgery (in terms of body mass index [BMI] reduction and weight loss). However, most prior studies have been limited by small sample sizes, inconsistent follow up, and categorical assessment of psychopathology. METHOD: The present study examines the predictive utility of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) scales for three bariatric surgery outcomes (BMI reduction, weight loss, and percent excess weight loss [%EWL]) across 10 follow-up points 5 years after surgery. It also examines the largest sample of bariatric surgery-completing patients (N = 2,267) on the PAI to date. Latent growth modeling was used to examine change in the outcome variables. RESULTS: Results indicate that personality and psychopathology variables predicted less BMI reduction, weight loss, and %EWL 5 years after surgery and also affected the trajectories of change in the outcome variables across time. The PAI scales predicted more variance in the 5-year BMI outcomes than did age and gender. The most robust effects were for scales assessing phobias, traumatic stress, identity problems, and negative relationships. CONCLUSION: The PAI may be useful to clinical health psychologists who conduct recommended psychological evaluations with potential bariatric surgery candidates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology in Healthcare Settings: Introduction to the Special Section.

Healthcare in the United States has increasingly benefited from the adoption of multidisciplinary providers. Many multidisciplinary teams include psychologists who often conduct psychological and personality assessments in their practice. This special section highlights areas of personality and psychological assessment in applied healthcare contexts. Nghiem and colleagues review the psychometric performance of various personality and psychopathology instruments and provide recommendations for the assessment of solid organ transplant evaluations. Gottschling and colleagues present a culturally adapted screener for anxiety-related symptoms in geriatric adults that can easily be administered in various healthcare settings. Perry and colleagues provide a rationale and method for including a brief personality assessment for patients with cancer. McCord presents a broadband screener, the Multidimensional Behavioral Health Screen (MBHS), that assesses 9 components of psychopathology. Mitchell and colleagues provide evidence for using the MBHS in primary care clinics as an alternative to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. This special section provides evidence-based information regarding personality and psychological assessments that will likely be useful in varied healthcare contexts.

Comparing the potential causal influence of two indicators of early alcohol use on later alcohol use disorder symptoms.

Age of first drink (AFD) has repeatedly been found to be associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD); however, some studies suggest this is a noncausal effect that may be due to childhood risk factors or familial influences. In contrast to indicators of any early alcohol use, such as AFD, indicators of a pattern of repeated drinking may be more likely to be causally associated with later problematic alcohol use. The current study examined AFD and age of onset of regular drinking (ARD; defined as drinking at least once a month for 6 or more months) as quasicausal predictors of lifetime AUD symptoms. Participants were 3,005 adult Australian twins who reported having been regular drinkers in their lifetime. Semistructured interviews were conducted to assess AFD, ARD, AUD, externalizing symptomatology, and other substance use. Personality traits were assessed via questionnaire. Unadjusted and adjusted multilevel discordant twin models were conducted using data from 1,041 complete twin pairs; adjusted models included socioeconomic status, personality, conduct disorder, and early initiation of regular smoking and marijuana use as covariates. Results from fully adjusted models controlling for familial confounds provided evidence for a causal influence of ARD on AUD symptoms, whereby twins with an earlier age of regular drinking than their cotwin had more lifetime AUD symptoms. However, AFD did not significantly predict AUD symptoms after adjusting for confounds. These results suggest that early regular drinking may serve as a causal risk factor for future problems, while early initiation of any alcohol use may indicate genetic liability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Strengths and Weaknesses of Two Empathy Measures: A Comparison of the Measurement Precision, Construct Validity, and Incremental Validity of Two Multidimensional Indices.

The quality of empathy research, and clinical assessment, hinges on the validity and proper interpretation of the measures used to assess the construct. This study investigates, in an online sample of 401 adult community participants, the construct validity of the Affective and Cognitive Measure of Empathy (ACME) relative to that of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the most widely used multidimensional empathy research measure. We investigated the factor structures of both measures, as well as their measurement precision across varying trait levels. We also examined them both in relation to convergent and discriminant criteria, including broadband personality dimensions, general emotionality, personality disorder features, and interpersonal malignancy. Our findings suggest that the ACME possesses incremental validity beyond the IRI for most constructs related to interpersonal malignancy. Our results further indicate that the IRI Personal Distress scale is severely deficient in construct validity, raising serious concerns regarding past findings that have included it when computing total empathy scores. Finally, our results indicate that both questionnaires display poor measurement precision at high trait levels, emphasizing the need for future researchers to develop indices that can reliably measure high levels of empathy.

Acquired Personality Disturbances After Meningioma Resection Are Strongly Associated With Impaired Quality of Life.

BACKGROUND: Some patients experience long-term declines in quality of life following meningioma resection, but associated factors are not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether long-term declines in quality of life (specifically impaired adaptive functioning) after meningioma resection are associated with specific personality disturbances that often develop with lesions in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). METHODS: We studied 38 patients who underwent resection of meningioma, 18 of whom had vmPFC lesions and 20 with lesions elsewhere (non-vmPFC). A total of 30 personality characteristics were rated by spouse or family, and a neuropsychologist blindly rated adaptive functioning an average of 3.8 yr postresection. Relevant personality disturbance was defined by a priori process: the presence of "conjoint personality disturbance" required specific disturbances in at least 2 of 4 types of disturbance: executive disorders, disturbed social behavior, emotional dysregulation, and hypoemotionality. RESULTS: Fourteen patients had impaired adaptive functioning: 12 had vmPFC lesions and 2 had non-vmPFC lesions. Fourteen patients had conjoint personality disturbance, and 12 of them had impaired adaptive functioning. By contrast, among the 24 patients who did not have conjoint personality disturbance, only 2 had impaired adaptive functioning. Mediation analysis showed that the association between vmPFC lesions and impaired adaptive functioning was mediated by the negative impact of acquired personality disturbance on adaptive functioning. CONCLUSION: Anterior skull base meningiomas plus resection surgery may result in specific personality disturbances that are highly associated with impaired adaptive functioning at long-term follow-up. These patients may benefit from early counseling regarding potential personality changes and their implications for adaptive functioning.

Mental and personality disorders in infertile women with polycystic ovary: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common causes of infertility in women. OBJECTIVE: The current study investigated mental and personality disorders in infertile women with and without PCOS. METHODS: This case-control study evaluated 400 infertile women who referred to the Infertility Center in Babol city (North of Iran). Participants were categorized into the case group (201 PCOS) and the control group (199 without PCOS). All of the participants completed the Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). RESULTS: The mean scores for clinical personality patterns were significantly higher for six personality disorders (schizoid, avoidant, antisocial, depressive, sadistic, and negativistic) and for three classes of severe personality disorder patterns (schizotypal, borderline, and paranoid) in infertile women with PCOS than in women without PCOS. The mean scores for eight clinical disorders (somatoform, manic disorder, dysthymia, alcohol-dependence, drug-dependence, post-trauma stress disorder, major depression, and delusion disorder) were also higher in infertile women with PCOS than in women without PCOS. CONCLUSION: The scores of many mental and personality disorders are higher in infertile women with PCOS than in women without PCOS. Thus, clinicians should prioritize recognizing and treating psychological problems of infertile women with PCOS.