The dynamics of social activation and suspiciousness in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.

INTRODUCTION: Social functioning is often impaired during the ultra-high risk (UHR) phase for psychosis, but group-level studies regarding the role of social functioning in transition to psychosis are inconsistent. Exploring the inter-individual differences which underlie the association between social functioning and psychotic symptoms in this phase could yield new insights. OBJECTIVE: To examine the idiographic and dynamic association between social activation and suspiciousness in individuals at UHR for psychosis using time-series analysis. METHODS: Twenty individuals at UHR for psychosis completed a diary application every evening for 90 days. Two items on social activation (quantity: 'time spent alone' and quality: 'feeling supported') and two items on suspiciousness ('feeling suspicious' and 'feeling disliked') were used. Time series (T = 90) of each individual were analyzed using vector auto regression analysis (VAR), to estimate the lagged (over 1 day) effect of social activation on suspiciousness, and vice versa, as well as their contemporaneous associations. RESULTS: Heterogeneous person-specific associations between social activation and suspiciousness were found in terms of strength, direction and temporal aspects. CONCLUSIONS: The association between social activation and suspiciousness differs amongst individuals who are at UHR for psychosis. These findings underline the importance of tailoring psychosocial interventions to the individual. Future studies may examine whether using results of single-subject studies in clinical practice to personalize treatment goals leads to better treatment outcomes.

Psychometric properties of the Dutch revised sense of coherence scale in a firefighter sample.

BACKGROUND: Sense of coherence (SOC) has been associated with resilience to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and seems to be a promising factor in primary prevention of PTSD in high risk populations. OBJECTIVE: The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Dutch revised Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-R) in a sample of N = 527 firefighters. METHOD: To investigate the internal structure of this 13-item scale, a Mokken scale analysis and an exploratory factor analysis were conducted (i.e. parallel analysis based on MRFA). RESULTS: The combined results of these analyses suggested that a one-factor solution with 10 out of 13 items was most compelling for our firefighter sample. Reliability estimates for the 10-item version increased compared to the 13-item version (13-item: α = .82, λ2 = .83; 10-item: α = λ2 = .85). As expected, the Dutch version showed positive associations with resilience (convergent validity), and low correlations with neuroticism and extraversion (discriminant validity). CONCLUSIONS: The one-factor solution of the Dutch SOC-R with 10 items (excluding item 2, item 3, and item 6) is most convincing. The use of this scale might be specifically interesting regarding its potential to primary prevention of trauma-related psychopathology in high-risk samples.

Antecedentes: El sentido de coherencia (SOC) se ha asociado con la resiliencia ante el trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y parece ser un factor prometedor en la prevención primaria del TEPT en poblaciones de alto riesgo.Objetivo: El presente estudio evaluó las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala revisada holandesa de Sentido de Coherencia (SOC-R) en una muestra de N = 527 bomberos.Método: Para investigar la estructura interna de esta escala de 13 ítems, se realizó un análisis de escala Mokken y un análisis factorial exploratorio (es decir, análisis paralelo basado en MRFA).Resultados: Los resultados combinados de estos análisis sugirieron que una solución de un factor con 10 de los 13 elementos fue más convincente para nuestra muestra de bomberos. Las estimaciones de confiabilidad para la versión de 10 ítems aumentaron en comparación con la versión de 13 ítems (13 ítems: α = .82, λ2 = .83; 10 ítems: α = λ2 = .85). Como se esperaba, la versión holandesa mostró asociaciones positivas con la resiliencia (validez convergente) y bajas correlaciones con neuroticismo y extraversión (validez discriminante).Conclusiones: La solución de un factor de la SOC-R holandesa con 10 ítems (excluyendo el ítem 2, el ítem 3 y el ítem 6) es muy convincente. El uso de esta escala podría ser específicamente interesante en cuanto a su potencial para la prevención primaria de psicopatología relacionada con el trauma en muestras de alto riesgo.