The impact of dispositional emotional expressivity and social constraints on distress among prostate cancer patients in Iceland.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to identify individual factors that may predict which subset of prostate cancer patients is more likely to experience emotional distress. DESIGN AND METHODS: Prostate cancer survivors identified through the Icelandic Cancer Registry (N=184), completed questionnaires measuring emotional distress, dispositional emotional expressivity and social constraints. RESULTS: A significant positive relationship was observed between perceived social constraints and distress (e.g. anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts), but only among prostate cancer survivors with higher levels of dispositional emotional expressivity. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study suggest that it might be important to assess individual differences as well as social environmental factors in the treatment of distress among prostate cancer survivors.

Pathways to inflated responsibility beliefs, responsibility attitudes and obsessive-compulsive symptoms: factor structure and test of a mediational model.

INTRODUCTION: Inflated responsibility has been hypothesized as an important influence on OCD symptoms. According to Salkovskis and colleagues (1999) there are in turn five developmental pathways that lead to inflated responsibility. Coles and Schofield (2008) proposed the Pathways to Responsibility Beliefs Scale (PIRBS) as a measure of these pathways. METHOD: In the present study the psychometric properties of an Icelandic translation of the PIRBS were evaluated and its factor structure was studied in a confirmatory factor analysis. Further it was tested whether responsibility mediated between pathways to responsibility beliefs and OCD symptoms. RESULTS: While neither a four nor a five-factor structure of the PIRBS was found to be wholly satisfactory; support for the latter was slightly better. Correlations of the PIRBS scales with measures of responsibility and obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms were moderate as expected. Support was found for a mediating role of responsibility attitudes between pathways measured by the PIRBS and OCD symptoms in support of Salkovskis and colleagues' theory (1999). CONCLUSION: The PIRBS is a promising approach to study the developmental precursors of inflated responsibility and OCD symptoms but its factor structure may need a revision.

Rearing practices and impulsivity/hyperactivity symptoms in relation to inflated responsibility and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

The aim of the study was to investigate potential precursors of inflated responsibility (responsibility attitudes) and obsessive-compulsive (OCD) symptoms. It was argued that both parental overprotection and impulsivity, separately and in interaction with each other, contribute to inflated responsibility and OCD symptoms. In a large sample of young adults (N = 570), self-report measures of OCD symptoms (OCI-R), responsibility attitudes (RAS), anxiety/depression (HADS), rearing practices (EMBU), present and past impulsivity/hyperactivity symptoms (IMP/HY) were administered. Overprotection as well as IMP/HY were found to predict OCD symptoms as well as inflated responsibility. Finally, a significant interaction was found between IMP/HY and overprotection with regard to both OCD symptoms and inflated responsibility. This effect reflected that IMP/HY was more strongly related to OCD symptoms and responsibility in people who had not been overprotected than in people who had been. Conversely overprotection was related to OCD symptoms and responsibility in people low but not in people high in IMP/HY. The results seem to indicate that the inadequacy between offer and need for parental control may play a role in the development of OCD symptoms.

The relationship between satisfaction with life, ADHD symptoms, and associated problems among university students.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain whether ADHD symptoms, and associated problems, are negatively related to subjective well-being. METHOD: The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was completed by 369 university students, along with the Reasoning & Rehabilitation (R&R) ADHD Training Evaluation (RATE), the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) Scale for current ADHD symptoms, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). RESULTS: The SWLS was negatively correlated with all the other measures, and the strongest correlations were with the Total RATE score. A multiple regression analysis showed that the variables in the study accounted for 22% and 25% of the variance of the SWLS among males and females, respectively. Among males poor social functioning was the best predictor of dissatisfaction with life, whereas among females it was poor emotional control. CONCLUSION: Both ADHD symptoms and associated problems are significantly related to poorer satisfaction with life.

Responsibility and impulsivity and their interaction in relation to obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

In the present study, the role of responsibility and impulsivity and their interaction in obsessive-compulsive symptoms was investigated. The obsessive-compulsive inventory-revised (OCI-R), an attention deficit and hyperactivity/impulsivity self-report scale (AD/HD-SR), the responsibility attitudes scale (RAS), Eysenck's impulsiveness/venturesomeness/empathy questionnaire (IVE), the community epidemiological survey-depression (CES-D) and the Penn State worry questionnaire (PSWQ) were administered to a sample of 405 Icelandic university students. Responsibility attitudes (RAS) and impulsivity measures were significantly related to scores on the OCI-R total scale, even when depression had been taken into consideration. The interaction between responsibility and hyperactivity/impulsivity added to the prediction of OCI-R scores over and above simple effects.

The Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II): psychometric properties in Icelandic student and patient populations.

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is one of the most widely used self-report measures of depression in both research and clinical practice. The Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II) is the most recent version of the BDI. The objective of the present study was to assess the psychometric foundations of the Icelandic translation of the BDI-II, adding to its international knowledge base. Participants were in total 1454, 1206 students and 248 outpatient-clinic patients. All students completed the BDI-II and a subgroup (n=142) completed additional measures of anxiety and depression. The Mini-International Psychiatric Interview (MINI) and the BDI-II were administrated to the patients. Convergent and divergent validity of the BDI-II were supported. It discriminated satisfactorily between patients diagnosed and those not diagnosed with major depression. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed small differences between various factor models of the BDI-II, derived from previous studies. However, a model of three first-order factors (cognitive-affective-somatic) and one second-order factor (general depression) offered an acceptable description of the item covariance structure for the BDI-II in both samples. It is concluded that the psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the BDI-II are supported in patient and student populations.

Follow-up of children diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders: stability and change during the preschool years.

Forty-one children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) receiving eclectic services were assessed twice during their preschool years. Measures were compared over time for the whole group and for diagnostic subgroups: Childhood autism (CA group) and Other PDDs group. The mean intelligence quotient/developmental quotient (IQ/DQ) of the whole group was stable (P = 0.209) and scores on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) decreased (P = 0.001). At time 2, the CA group was more impaired than the other PDDs group: autistic symptoms were more severe (P = 0.01), adaptive behavior scores were lower (P = 0.014), and a trend for lower IQ/DQs (P = 0.06). Children in this study seemed to fare better than reported in previous follow-up studies on children with autism.

Validity of self-report and informant rating scales of adult ADHD symptoms in comparison with a semistructured diagnostic interview.

In a study of ADHD symptoms in the relatives of probands diagnosed with ADHD, the validity of self-reported and informant-reported symptoms in childhood and adulthood was investigated with a semistructured diagnostic interview, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS) adapted for adults, as a criterion. The participating relatives were 80 women and 46 men aged 17 to 77. Rating scales based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) were completed by participants and informants. Internal consistency of the scales and interrater reliabilities of the diagnostic interview were satisfactory. Correlations between ratings across sources of information supported convergent and divergent validity. Self-report scales and informant scales predicted interview-based diagnoses in childhood and adulthood with adequate sensitivities and specificities. It was concluded that the rating scales have good psychometric properties, at least in at-risk populations.

Prevalence estimates of gambling participation and problem gambling among 16-18-year-old students in Iceland: a comparison of the SOGS-RA and DSM-IV-MR-J.

The aim of this study was to estimate gambling participation and problem gambling among Icelandic adolescents. Participants were 750 16-18-year-old students, 371 girls and 379 boys. The rate of problem gambling was estimated with the SOGS-RA and DSM-IV-MR-J. Results indicated that 96% of adolescents had gambled in their lifetime, 79% at least once in the preceding year and about 10% gamble at least once a week. A psychometric evaluation of the two screening scales revealed satisfactory reliabilities and factor structures for both scales. The DSM-IV-MR-J identified 2% of the participants as problem gamblers while SOGS-RA identified 2.7%, and problem gambling was more common among boys than girls. It was concluded that problem gambling among adolescents is an area of concern for the Icelandic community that needs to be further investigated.

Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale: convergence and discrepancy in diagnosing autism.

The agreement between the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was investigated in the diagnostic assessment of 54 children aged 22-114 months referred for possible autism. The observed agreement between the two systems was 66.7% (Cohen's kappa = .40) when the ADI-R definition for autism was applied (i.e., scores reaching cutoff in three domains on the ADI-R), but increased considerably with less stringent criteria; that is, scores reaching cutoffs in two domains and in one domain on the ADI-R. As predicted, the CARS identified more cases of autism than the ADI-R. Children classified as autistic according to both instruments had significantly lower IQ/DQ and more severe autistic symptomatology than those classified with the CARS only.

Motor inhibition, reflection impulsivity, and trait impulsivity in pathological skin picking.

Pathological skin picking (PSP) is often recognized as an impulse control disorder. The current study sought to investigate the relationship between PSP and different forms of impulsivity. University students that met criteria for PSP (n = 55) and university students without history of PSP (n = 55) answered a multidimensional impulsivity questionnaire (the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale) and completed 2 neurocognitive tasks that assess impulsivity (the Stop Signal Task and the Information Sampling Task). The PSP group scored significantly higher than the control group on the negative and positive urgency subscales of the UPPS, but the groups did not differ on other subscales or the neurocognitive tasks. Logistic regression demonstrated that the urgency scales added to the prediction of PSP after negative affect and other forms of impulsivity were adjusted for. The results indicate that PSP sufferers are characterized by emotion-based impulsivity and do not appear to be impulsive in other ways.

Self reported attentional control with the Attentional Control Scale: factor structure and relationship with symptoms of anxiety and depression.

The Attentional Control Scale (ACS) is a self-report questionnaire that has been developed to measure individual differences in attentional control. Despite its fairly widespread use, little is known about the psychometric properties of the scale in adult samples. In the present study, factor structure of the ACS and its relationship with symptoms of anxiety and depression was investigated in a total sample of 728 Icelandic university students. Exploratory factor analysis in sample 1 (n=361), yielded two factors, labeled focusing and shifting. Confirmatory factor analysis in sample 2 (n=367) showed a reasonable fit of this two factor model. The two factors correlated strongly (0.73). The two subscales showed different predictive validity in a set of hierarchical regression analyses where the focusing subscale made a significant prediction of anxiety scores when depression scores were controlled for, and the shifting subscale significant prediction of depression scores when anxiety scores were controlled for. These findings are discussed in relation to previous studies on attentional and executive control in anxiety and depression.

Emotion regulation in pathological skin picking: findings from a non-treatment seeking sample.

Pathological skin picking (PSP) is characterized by excessive picking of the skin, resulting in significant distress or functional impairment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the emotion regulation hypothesis of PSP. University students with PSP (n = 55) and without history of PSP (n = 55) were asked to retrospectively rate the intensity of affective states before, during, and after skin picking episodes. The results showed that for a majority of the PSP sufferers, intensity of certain negative affective states (i.e. anxiety, tension or boredom) was pronounced just before picking, and diminished significantly in the period from before to after picking. Relief and gratification increased during picking whereas guilt increased afterwards. A similar pattern emerged in the control group, although a much lower level of intensity was reported. Participants were also asked to fill out questionnaires concerning emotion regulation difficulties, emotion reactivity, depression, anxiety and worry. Hierarchical logistic regressions demonstrated that emotion regulation difficulties as well as emotion reactivity predicted PSP diagnosis after depression, anxiety and worry were controlled for. Furthermore, emotion regulation difficulties statistically mediated the relationship between emotion reactivity and PSP. Overall, the findings support an emotion regulation model of PSP.

Psychometric properties of the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised among Icelandic college students.

In the present study, the psychometric properties of the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) (Foa, et al., 2002) were investigated. The OCI-R was administered to a total of 816 Icelandic college students. The Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) were administered to a subsample of 304 students, and the PI-WSUR (Padua Inventory Washington State University Revision), the PSWQ and the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) to another subsample of 212 students. Also, 89 students filled in the OCI-R twice with two weeks in between. The factor structure of the instrument was replicated in a confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliabilities of the OCI-R total scale and all subscales were satisfactory. Further, the OCI-R total score showed a significantly higher correlation with the PI-WSUR and the MOCI than with the PSWQ or the MPS. Finally, conceptually similar scales of the OCI-R and the MOCI as well as the PI-WSUR showed higher inter-correlations than the correlations that were observed between conceptually more distinct scales. It is concluded that the Icelandic version of the OCI-R has strong psychometric properties in a student population.

[Reliability and validity of the Icelandic version of the Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R)]. / Próffraedilegir eiginleikar íslenskrar gerdar Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R) prófsins.

OBJECTIVE: The psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R) were investigated. The BULIT-R is a self-report instrument designed to assess a broad range of eating-disordered behaviour, particularly bulimic symptomatology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The BULIT-R was administered to 66 female patients receiving outpatient psychiatric treatment. Almost half of the patients (n=32) sought treatment for disturbed eating behaviours and 34 women were in treatment for depression or anxiety. In addition, three other self-report measures were administered to the women, the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale (EDDS), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R), in order to assess convergent and divergent validity. RESULTS: The study estimated the reliability and construct validity of the BULIT-R. The internal reliability was high (Cronbach's coefficient alpha = 0,96). The BULIT-R correlated highly with EDDS, a brief self-report measure for diagnosing anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, and it correlated lower with BDI-II and OCI-R. The BULIT-R differentiated between patients with and without eating-disordered symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the Icelandic version of the BULIT-R is a reliable and valid measure to assess eating disordered behaviour, particularly bulimic behaviour among female outpatients.

Are responsibility attitudes related to obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schoolchildren?

In spite of a growth in cognitive conceptualizations of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, relatively little has been done to extend such concepts to childhood. This study investigated the relationship between responsibility attitudes and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in normal children. A measure of responsibility attitudes in children was constructed on the basis of Salkovskis' Responsibility Attitudes Scale. This measure (Responsibility Attitudes Scale for Children) was administered together with the Leyton Obsessive Inventory Child Version and the Children's Depression Inventory to a sample of two hundred and two 10-14-year-old schoolchildren in Iceland. The responsibility measure correlated moderately and similarly with the Leyton Obsessive Inventory Child Version and the Children's Depression Inventory. In a hierarchical regression analysis predicting Leyton Obsessive Inventory Child Version scores, age and gender were entered in the equation first, followed by Children's Depression Inventory scores and, finally, Responsibility Attitudes Scale for Children scores. It was shown that Responsibility Attitudes Scale for Children scores added significantly to the prediction of Leyton Obsessive Inventory Child Version over and above the other variables. It is concluded that the study of the role of responsibility attitudes in children's obsessive-compulsive symptoms is at least promising.

Psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) among Icelandic schoolchildren.

A psychometric assessment of the Icelandic version of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) was undertaken among Icelandic schoolchildren, between 10 and 15 years of age. In a first study 625 children between 10 and 15 years of age filled in the MASC. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four-factor structure of the instrument was justified. Further, means and standard deviations of the total scale and the subscales were similar to the original normative data reported by March (1997). In a second study the MASC, the Children Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) were administered to a sample of 249 schoolchildren between 10 and 15 years of age. The results supported the convergent and divergent validity of the MASC. Together the two studies show satisfactory psychometric properties of the Icelandic version of the MASC in a normal population.