Examining the Relationship Between Maladaptive Perfectionism and Social Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion.

Previous studies have indicated a relationship between perfectionism and social anxiety symptoms, but the mechanisms between these concepts are not well-defined yet. This study focused on the mediator role of self-compassion in the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and social anxiety symptoms controlling self-esteem. It is hypothesized that maladaptive perfectionism would be related to lower levels of self-compassion and lower levels of self-compassion related to greater social anxiety symptoms controlling self-esteem. The sample consisted of 389 university students who completed a battery of instruments, including measures of The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), The Big Three Perfectionism Scale (BTPS), The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Simple mediation analyses with bootstrapping demonstrated that self-compassion has a significant mediator role in the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and social anxiety when self-esteem is not included in the model. However, results also revealed that the indirect effect of self-compassion is no longer significant when self-esteem is included in the model as a covariate. Findings suggest that self-compassion has no mediator role independent from self-esteem in the context of perfectionism and social anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy for Anger Management in Juvenile Delinquents: Effectiveness Study in a Turkey Child Prison.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) for anger management in Juvenile Delinquents. The therapy program consisted of eight sessions including relaxation, self-instruction, cognitive restructuring, and assertiveness training techniques. The therapy program has been conducted for juvenile delinquents in one of the juvenile prisons in Turkey. Sixty juvenile delinquents, aged between 14 and 18, who met the inclusion criteria (treatment = 30, control = 30), were included at the beginning of the study. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, State Trait Anger and Expression Inventory (STAXI), and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were administered as pre-test. At the end of the therapy program, final analysis was conducted on 35 participants (20 therapy group, 15 control group) due to participants dropout. Mixed ANOVA was conducted to examine the time (pre-test and post-test) and group effects (therapy and control group). Results showed that the participants in the therapy group showed a significant decrease in trait anger and anger expression scores, both subscales of STAXI and in the hostility subscale of BSI; a statistically significant increase in the anger control scores of the subscale of STAXI when compared to the control group. In conclusion, this culturally attuned CBGT for anger management may be applicable for Juvenile Delinquents in Turkey.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Two Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy Programs for Schizophrenia: Results of a Short-Term Randomized Control Trial.

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two different cognitive-behavioural therapy programs in patients with schizophrenia and clarify which techniques are more effective on psychotic symptoms. With this purpose, 39 schizophrenia outpatients-assessed by independent assessors using Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and by researchers using Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scales-were randomly assigned to routine care (RC), RC plus COPE-CBT or RC plus CBT groups. The repeated measures ANOVA results show that there was a significant reduction in the severity and frequency of hallucinations in CBT group and delusions in COPE-CBT group. Both CBT programs were found to be superior to RC group on some measures at post-treatment, as well as 3 months follow-up.

[The Assessment of the Auditory Hallucinations and Delusions: The Reliability and the Validity of Turkish Version of the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATS)]. / Isitsel Varsani ve Sanrilarin Degerlendirilmesi: Psikotik Belirti Degerlendirme Ölçeklerinin (PSYRATS) Türkçe Formunun Güvenilirligi ve Geçerligi.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of Turkish version of PSYRATS Auditory Hallucinations Scales (AHS) and Delusion Scales (DS). METHOD: 85 schizophrenic outpatients or inpatients aged between 18 and 65 years were the subjects of this study. The patients diagnosed by using the DSM-IV-TR and who have psychosis with alcohol or drug dependence, organic, mental and physical deficit were not included to the study. PSYRATS scales were translated and corrected by the authors. PSYRATS were applied for two times per week to 57 patients to determine test-retest reliability. 85 patients were applied PANSS and 71 of them were applied SAPS to determine the concurrent validity. RESULTS: Cronbach Alpha coefficient was calculated as .79 for AHS and .80 for DS. For the AHS each item correlated between .59 and .98; for the DS each correlated between .66 and .93. For the test-retest reliability, item correlation coefficient of AHS is determined between .68 and .89, DS is .61 and .76 (p<0.01). Supporting the concurrent validity, a significant correlation was found between PANSS and SAPS (p<0.01). Three factor groups for AHS and also DH were revealed and examined more than 90 % of the variance. The results were supported by the original study findings. CONCLUSION: PSYRATS Auditory Hallucination and Delusion Scales were found to be reliable and valid measures to assess the dimensions of psychotic symptoms in Turkish schizophrenia patients.

[Cognitive-behavioral group treatment for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders- a systematic review]. / Sizofreni ve diger psikotik bozukluklarda bilissel-davranisçi grup terapisi-sistematik bir gözden geçirme.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to revise empirical studies that were used to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group treatment programs in the treatment for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. METHOD: Articles in English that were published between the years of 1980 and 2011 (july) have been searched in the: PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and MEDLINE databases by using "(1) psychosis and cognitive treatment (2) schizophrenia and cognitive treatment, (3) schizophrenia and cognitive therapy, (4) psychosis and cognitive therapy, (5) schizophrenia and cognitive intervention (6), psychosis and cognitive intervention, (7) hallucination and cognitive therapy, (8) hallucination and cognitive treatment, (9) hallucination and cognitive intervention" keywords. The articles that were gathered by the search have been read and the ones that were not therapy effectiveness studies, group therapies were eliminated. RESULTS: The remaining 42 studies that were in conformance with the search criteria were introduced in the context of method (properties of population, measures, randomization, results, follow-up, etc.) and therapy characteristics (number of sessions, frequency of sessions, number of therapists and members, etc.). CONCLUSION: It can be seen that the cognitive behavioral therapies plus standard treatment that are applied to people who have schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are effective in decreasing the symptoms of the disorders (positive and negative symptoms etc.) and/or the problems that accompany the disorder (anxiety, hopelessness etc.).

[A pilot study on the effectiveness of a group-based cognitive-behavioral therapy program for coping with auditory hallucinations]. / Isitsel Halüsinasyonlarla Basa Çikmaya Yönelik Bilissel-Davranisçi Bir Grup Müdahalesinin Etkililigi: Bir Pilot Çalisma.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to prepare a group-based cognitive-behavioral therapy program for patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders coping with auditory hallucinations, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. METHOD: The study included 12 male inpatients aged between 18 and 55 years from the Manisa Mental Health and Illnesses Hospital that were diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria (SCID-I). The inclusion criteria were the diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, at least 1 hospitalization, the presence of auditory hallucinations, and the absence of alcohol/drug abuse/dependence, organic deficit, and mental/physical disability. In all, 7 patients received routine care plus group CBT and 5 patients received routine care alone. The group treatment program was conducted for 9-10 sessions twice a week. The patients were assessed using SAPS, SANS, the Problem/Symptom Checklist, and the Knowledge of Schizophrenia Questionnaire pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at the 1-year follow-up. The outcomes were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in the severity and frequency of hallucinations, delusions, distress and occupation with auditory hallucinations, negative symptoms, and anxiety in the CBT group after treatment. Additionally, post-treatment outcome in the treatment group didn't change at 1 year follow-up. In the control group, there was no difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment outcome (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The therapy program was considered to be effective in increasing the ability to cope with auditory hallucinations and reducing their frequency for the patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

[Evaluation of the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral therapy program for alleviating the symptoms of social anxiety in adolescents]. / Ergenlerde Sosyal Anksiyete Belirtilerini Azaltmaya Yönelik Bilissel-Davranisçi Bir Grup Terapisi Programinin Etkililiginin Degerlendirilmesi.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research project is to investigate the effects of cognitive-behavioral group therapy on adolescents suffering from symptoms of social anxiety. METHOD: cognitive behavioral group therapy program for reducing social anxiety was developed by the authors, after which a pilot study was conducted, evaluated for deficiencies, finalized, and implemented in the following study. The final program entailed 13 sessions covering relaxation training, cognitive restructuring and exposure components. To recruit the participants for the intervention program screening tests were applied to 711 students of three different junior high schools in Izmir. 44 students (treatment=24, control= 20) who met the inclusion criteria in the seventh and eighth grades participated in the main study. Evaluation of the therapy program was ascertained using the following instruments; for students, Negative Cognitive Errors Questionnaire (CNCEQ), Cape Social Phobia Scale for Children and Adolescents (CSPSCA), Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A); and for parents, (SAS-P) was used to compare their pre-program and post-program tests results. RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVAs yielded significant Group X Time interactions for SAS-A (F (1, 42) =7.511, p< 0.01, eta2 =0.15), CSPSCA (F (1, 42) =6.54, p<.05) and CNCEQ (F (1, 42) = 8.295, p<0.01, eta2 =0.16) scores. Results from parents further indicated that social anxiety in the treatment group had decreased after program completion (F (1, 42) = 9.496, p=0.004, eta2 =0.18). CONCLUSION: Consistent with the literature of school based Cognitive-Behavioral Group Treatment (CBGT) programs for social anxiety, it was found that adolescents in the treatment group exhibited a significant decrease in social anxiety and related cognitive errors.