How did Different Generations Cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic? Early Stages of the Pandemic in Spain.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization has highlighted the importance of studying the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. The aim of this study is to examine the role of age in the early psychological responses to the pandemic in a Spanish community sample, focusing on how different generations coped with it. METHOD: An online survey was conducted during the early stages of the quarantine. Sociodemographic, health and behavioral variables were compared for five age groups. Mental health was assessed by the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and psychological impacts were assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). RESULTS: 3,524 participants were included (Mage = 39.24, SDage = 12.00). Participants aged between 18 and 33 years old showed more hyperactivation and evitation, were more depressed, anxious and stressed. Those aged between 26 and 33 years old showed more intrusion. Those aged between 18 and 25 years old suffered more sleep disturbances, claustrophobia and somatization and maintained worse routines. Elderly people showed better psychological responses in general. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides initial evidence that the negative psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic hits young people harder. These results should be taken into account when developing specific evidence-based strategies.

Comparison of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as Adjunctive Treatments for Recurrent Depression: The European Depression EMDR Network (EDEN) Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Treatment of recurrent depressive disorders is currently only moderately successful. Increasing evidence suggests a significant relationship between adverse childhood experiences and recurrent depressive disorders, suggesting that trauma-based interventions could be useful for these patients. Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) in addition to antidepressant medication (ADM) in treating recurrent depression. Design: A non-inferiority, single-blind, randomized clinical controlled trial comparing EMDR or CBT as adjunctive treatments to ADM. Randomization was carried out by a central computer system. Allocation was carried out by a study coordinator in each center. Setting: Two psychiatric services, one in Italy and one in Spain. Participants: Eighty-two patients were randomized with a 1:1 ratio to the EMDR group (n = 40) or CBT group (n = 42). Sixty-six patients, 31 in the EMDR group and 35 in the CBT group, were included in the completers analysis. Intervention: 15 ± 3 individual sessions of EMDR or CBT, both in addition to ADM. Participants were followed up at 6-months. Main outcome measure: Rate of depressive symptoms remission in both groups, as measured by a BDI-II score <13. Results: Sixty-six patients were analyzed as completers (31 EMDR vs. 35 CBT). No significant difference between the two groups was found either at the end of the interventions (71% EMDR vs. 48.7% CBT) or at the 6-month follow-up (54.8% EMDR vs. 42.9% CBT). A RM-ANOVA on BDI-II scores showed similar reductions over time in both groups [F(6,59) = 22.501, p < 0.001] and a significant interaction effect between time and group [F(6,59) = 3.357, p = 0.006], with lower BDI-II scores in the EMDR group at T1 [mean difference = -7.309 (95% CI [-12.811, -1.806]), p = 0.010]. The RM-ANOVA on secondary outcome measures showed similar improvement over time in both groups [F(14,51) = 8.202, p < 0.001], with no significant differences between groups [F(614,51) = 0.642, p = 0.817]. Conclusion: Although these results can be considered preliminary only, this study suggests that EMDR could be a viable and effective treatment for reducing depressive symptoms and improving the quality of life of patients with recurrent depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN09958202.

Validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20).

BACKGROUND: The Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20) is a self-reported questionnaire measuring somatoform dissociation. The aim of this study is to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the SDQ-20 and its short version (SDQ-5). METHODS: Validity and reliability were examined in a sample of 360 psychiatric outpatients: 38 dissociative (conversion) disorders, 30 dissociative (psychoform) disorders, and 292 patients suffering from other disorders. Dissociative disorders were diagnosed using the SCID-D and a specific interview for conversion disorders. RESULTS: Subjects meeting criteria for any dissociative or conversion disorder scored significantly higher in the SDQ-20 (criterion validity). Somatoform dissociation, psychoform dissociation and early trauma were significantly correlated (construct validity). An alpha coefficient of .866 (reliability) and a test-retest correlation of 0.91 were obtained. The cut-off score maximizing sensitivity and specificity was 27.5 for psychoform dissociative disorders (sensitivity of 81.6% and specificity of 71.0%) and 29.5 for conversion disorders (81.6% and 71.0%). For the SDQ-5, the coefficient alpha was 0.561 and the selected cut-off score was 5.5 (sensitivity of 73.33% and specificity of 70.41%). CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the SDQ-20 presents good psychometric properties while the SDQ-5 shows worse characteristics and its use with Spanish samples is not recommended.

The Progressive Approach to EMDR Group Therapy for Complex Trauma and Dissociation: A Case-Control Study.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a psychotherapeutic approach with recognized efficiency in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is being used and studied in other psychiatric diagnoses partially based on adverse and traumatic life experiences. Nevertheless, there is not enough empirical evidence at the moment to support its usefulness in a diagnosis other than PTSD. It is commonly accepted that the use of EMDR in severely traumatized patients requires an extended stabilization phase. Some authors have proposed integrating both the theory of structural dissociation of the personality and the adaptive information processing model guiding EMDR therapy. One of these proposals is the Progressive Approach. Some of these EMDR procedures will be evaluated in a group therapy format, integrating them along with emotional regulation, dissociation, and trauma-oriented psychoeducational interventions. Patients presenting a history of severe traumatization, mostly early severe and interpersonal trauma, combined with additional significant traumatizing events in adulthood were included. In order to discriminate the specific effect of EMDR procedures, two types of groups were compared: TAU (treatment as usual: psychoeducational intervention only) vs. TAU+EMDR (the same psychoeducational intervention plus EMDR specific procedures). In pre-post comparison, more variables presented positive changes in the group including EMDR procedures. In the TAU+EMDR group, 4 of the 5 measured variables presented significant and positive changes: general health (GHQ), general satisfaction (Schwartz), subjective well-being, and therapy session usefulness assessment. On the contrary, only 2 of the 5 variables in the TAU group showed statistically significant changes: general health (GHQ), and general satisfaction (Schwartz). Regarding post-test inter-group comparison, improvement in subjective well-being was related to belonging to the group that included EMDR procedures, with differences between TAU and TAU+EMDR groups being statistically significant [χ2(1) = 14.226; p < 0.0001]. In the TAU+EMDR group there was not one patient who got worse or did not improve; 100% experienced some improvement. In the TAU group, 70.6% referred some improvement, and 29.4% said to have gotten worse or not improved.