Psychometric properties of the Turkish form of Codependency Assessment Tool.

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Codependency Assessment Tool (CODAT) developed by C. Hughes Hammer, D. S. Martsolf, and R. A. Zeller (1998a, 1998b) for Turkish students and investigated the relationship of codependency with attachment styles and family problems. After the translation of the CODAT, Beck Depression Inventory, Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised, and Family Problems of Young Adulthood Evaluation Scale, each was administrated to Turkish female nurse students (n = 400). Factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha values were then computed. Five-factor solution revealed a similar factor structure for the Turkish version of CODAT compared with that of the original tool. Five factors explained 48.38% of the variance. All of the items (with one exception) loaded on their original factors. Cronbach's alpha values for factors ranged between .62 and .78. For the total score, Cronbach's alpha was found to be .75. After statistically controlling for the effects of depressive symptoms, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to investigate if the attachment styles and family problems would change depending on codependency levels. For ANCOVAs, CODAT scores were treated at three levels. Students with higher CODAT scores had more attachment-related anxiety and reported more family problems after controlling for the effects of depressive symptoms. Our research results support the internal consistency and validity of the Turkish version of CODAT.

[Orthorexia nervosa and adaptation of ORTO-11 into Turkish]. / Ortoreksiya nervoza ve Orto-11'in türkçeye uyarlama çalismasi.

OBJECTIVE: Orthorexia is a pathological fixation about the consumption of healthy food. The present study aimed to reveal the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of ORTO-15, which was developed to evaluate orthorexia, and to investigate the relationship betweenorthorexia, and eating attitude, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and some demographic variables. METHOD: The study included 994 participants aged between 19 and 66 years. ORTO-15, the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, and the Eating Attitude Test-40 were administered to the participants. RESULTS: A 3-factor solution with varimax rotation explained 40.62% of the variance. When 4 items with factor loadings below+/- 0.50 were eliminated from ORTO-15, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.62. The remaining 11 items were thought to have statistically satisfactory properties for the Turkish version of ORTO and were collectively referred to as ORTO-11. This version was used to investigate the relationship between orthorexia, and eating attitude and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Pathological eating attitude and obsessive-compulsive symptoms were related to orthorexia. Women exhibited more orthorexic symptoms then men. In the present study high a body mass index was an important variable for orthorexia, but only together with gender (female), pathological eating attitude, and increased obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The results, implications, and limitations of the study are discussed. CONCLUSION: ORTO-11 demonstrated statistically satisfactory properties. Orthorexia was related to pathological eating attitude and obsessive-compulsive symptoms; however, caution should be used when generalizing the reported results.

[An evaluation of some of the relationships between thought-action fusion, attributional styles, and depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms]. / Düsünce-eylem kaynasmasi, yükleme biçimleri, depresif ve obsesif-kompulsif belirtiler arasindaki iliskilerin incelenmesi.

OBJECTIVE: Thought-action fusion (TAF) is a cognitive bias presumed to underlie the development of obsessional problems. Two domains of TAF have been identified. The first, TAF-moral, is characterized by the belief that having morally unacceptable thoughts is as bad as actually carrying them out. The second, TAF-likelihood, refers to the belief that certain thoughts cause particular events. The event can be related to one's self (likelihood-self) or to someone else (likelihood-others). The other cognitive variable of the study is attributional style. The theory of attributional styles, in terms of the causes of good and bad events, is taken into account especially in the context of depression and has four dimensions: internality-externality, stability-instability, globality-specifity, and importance-unimportance. The first objective of the present study was to investigate the relationships between TAF, and attributional style, and depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The second objective was to determine the predictors of TAF when the effects of depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms are statistically controlled. METHOD: The sample consisted of 312 students randomly selected from different departments at Hacettepe University. The Thought-Action Fusion Scale (TAFS), Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to these students. RESULTS: The correlations among all the subtypes of TAF (TAF-moral, likelihood-self, and likelihood-others), and the global attributions for bad events, BDI, and MOCI were significant. In addition, the correlation between TAF-moral and the importance of the attribution for bad events was significant. TAF-likelihood-others and TAF-likelihood-self were predicted by global attributions for bad events and TAF-moral was predicted by the importance of the attributions for bad events. CONCLUSION: TAF, and attributional styles, and depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms may be related to each other. The results also suggest a possible effect of other variables not controlled in this study, both on TAF and the dimensions of attributional styles.

[Psychopathology and personality patterns in the first-degree relatives of bipolar patients]. / Bipolar bozuklugu olan hastalarin birinci derece akrabalarinda psikopatoloji ve kisilik orüntüleri.

OBJECTIVE: This is a cross-sectional study designed to assess psychopathology and personality patterns in a group of high-risk subjects for bipolar disorder compared to a control group. As high-risk subjects first-degree relatives of bipolar patients were selected. METHOD: Ninety-five first-degree relatives of 54 bipolar patients and 93 first-degree relatives of 54 subjects without any psychiatric disorder were recruited in the study. Control subjects were matched to bipolar patients according to age, gender and educational status. SADS-L (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Lifetime Version) was used both to ascertain the psychiatric status of the patient and control subjects, and to evaluate the psychopathology in probands' and controls' relatives. MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) profiles of relatives of patient and control groups were compared as well. RESULTS: In the relatives of bipolar patients the SADS-L diagnoses of hypomania, minor depression and schizotypal personality were statistically more prevalent than in the relatives of the control group. MMPI-2 profiles of both relatives of bipolar patients and controls were within "normal" range, whereas relatives of patients were more defensive in disclosing psychopathology. Any specific profile characteristic for relatives of bipolar patients could not be described. CONCLUSION: Minor mental disorders were more prevalent in the relatives of bipolar patients group. A personality pattern specific to high risk group for bipolar disorder couldn't be detected.

Who benefits from cognitive behavioral therapy for vaginismus?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of a group of Turkish vaginismus patients who benefited from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and to study which factors this treatment model changes. Twenty-eight couples who applied to Psychiatry Clinic of Hacettepe University Hospital, Ankara, for treatment of vaginismus within the 6-month period participated in the study. Fourteen subjects quit the therapy after the initial assessment sessions. Other couples successfully completed the treatment. We assessed all the couples that completed the CBT at three times: during the initial session, at the end of the treatment, and during the follow-up session (4 weeks after the end of the treatment). In terms of anxiety levels, and quality of marital and sexual relationships, the characteristics of the couples that quit the therapy could not be identified. But we found that all of the participants were treated effectively by CBT. At the end of the therapy, anxiety levels of the women decreased. There also were improvements on parameters related to marital harmony and overall sexual functioning of the women. We discuss the findings of our study within a cultural perspective.

Reexamination of the characteristics of the deficit schizophrenia patients.

The aim of this study was to reexamine and compare the characteristics of the deficit and nondeficit schizophrenic patients. This cross-sectional study consisted of 62 in- and out-patients, 18-65 years of age, diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV. The sociodemographic variables, premorbid adjustment, clinical course and general functioning level in the past five years were evaluated by utilizing the appropriate sections of Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH). In addition, GAF, the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome (SDS), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Montgomery Asberg Depression Scale (MADRS), the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES) and the Simpson Angus Extrapyramidal Side Effects (EPS) Rating Scale, Trail A and B, Verbal Fluency, Stroop, Block Design and Finger Tapper tests were administered. Using the SDS, 19 patients (30.6 %) were categorized as deficit; 43 (69.4 %) were categorized as nondeficit. The deficit patients were worse on the Functioning During Past Five Years score of CASH. The PANSS and MADRS mean scores were not significantly different between the two groups, except a higher level of negative symptoms observed in the deficit group. NES scores were also significantly higher in the deficit group. However, sociodemographic and other clinical variables, neurocognitive measures and EPS symptoms did not show any significant difference between the two groups. Our findings suggest that the deficit schizophrenia is a distinct subgroup comprised of patients who have more negative symptoms, neurological impairment and poor functioning which may have a common underlying pathology.

Outcome measures of interepisode bipolar patients in a Turkish sample.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to study the correlations of several outcome measures in bipolar patients with the clinical features of interepisode period. METHODS: Bipolar patients who were diagnosed according to DSM-III-R or IV were contacted and asked for a further evaluation. Interepisode bipolar patients (n = 100) were interviewed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS). In addition the Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ), the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) and the Global Assessment Scale (GAS) were administered to assess outcome. They were also asked to check the List of Life Events (LLE) for the last six months. RESULTS: Our results can be summarised as follows: (1) quality of life was predicted by current subthreshold depressive symptoms; (2) the number of previous depressive episodes, current subthreshold depressive and manic symptoms predicted disability; (3) the number of previous depressive episodes and the duration of hospitalisation as well as current subthreshold depressive and manic symptoms predicted overall functioning; (4) the number and distress level of life events were correlated with suicidal symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that outcome measures were correlated with subsyndromal disorder, the number of previous depressive episodes and the duration of hospitalisation.

The Turkish version of the Auditory Consonant Trigram Test as a measure of working memory: a normative study.

The following study was conducted to adapt the Auditory Consonant Trigram Test (ACT) to Turkish, acquire a new and larger set of normative data, and finally investigate the reliability and validity of the adapted version. The data were collected from a sample of 236 healthy individuals. To test the validity of the Turkish version of ACT, the normative results of ACT were first compared with those obtained from the Digit Span Test (DST) backwards section. Secondly, the ACT performance of 53 schizophrenic patients was compared with that of a matched group selected from the normative sample. Age and education variables influenced performance, whereas gender did not in the normal sample. The ACT and DST backwards scores were positively correlated. As expected, the ACT performance was worse in schizophrenic patients compared to controls. The internal consistency of the adapted version of ACT was found to be at a reliable level (alpha=0.8535). The Turkish version of ACT can be considered to be a reliable and valid measure of working memory.