Validation of the Serbian version of the Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 in nonclinical and clinical samples.

The Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30) is a brief multidimensional measure used for assessment of metacognitive beliefs in psychopathology. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of MCQ-30 in Serbian nonclinical (n = 246) and clinical (n = 171; anxiety and depressive disorders) samples. The reliability of the questionnaire and its subscales was satisfactory. An exploratory factor analysis yielded a five-factor solution in both groups, whereas a confirmatory factor analysis showed a somewhat weaker fit of the model. The MCQ-30 showed positive associations with measures of anxiety, pathological worry, depressive, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in both samples, demonstrating adequate convergent validity. The instrument was sensitive to differences in metacognitive beliefs between nonclinical and clinical samples. MCQ-30 subscales showed incremental contributions in predicting pathological worry after controlling for the variance in obsessive-compulsive symptoms and vice versa. Our results suggest that the MCQ-30 is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing metacognitive beliefs in both nonclinical and clinical samples. Moreover, the findings support the use of the MCQ-30 in Serbian population and extend support for the metacognitive model.

Can We Predict and Prevent Subclinical Depression in Adolescents?

The purposes of this article were to determine which risk factors are significant predictors of the occurrence of depression in adolescence and to discriminate among clinical, subclinical, and control groups. The sample consisted of 412 adolescents (61.7% female, 38.3% male) aged 13 to 17 years. Cognitive vulnerability factors for depression (i.e., dysfunctional attitudes, negative inferential style, ruminative response style) and psychosocial risk factors (i.e., negative life events, perceived social support) were measured. Subsequent discriminant function analysis indicated that it was possible to distinguish groups on the basis of the mentioned predictors, and it allocated two discriminant functions (significant at p < 0.001). Unexpectedly, ruminative response style was the most powerful discriminative predictor possessing a positive and adaptive part, and, at the same time, it maximally distinguished the subclinical group from the clinical and control groups.

Personality profiles of patients with dysthymic and panic disorder.

BACKGROUND: The research objective was to identify personality characteristics as well as similarities between, and differences in personality profiles of persons suffering from Dysthymic (DD) and Panic Disorder (with/without Agoraphobia) (PD/PDA). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Three groups (N=120) were analysed: DD, PD/PDA, and a healthy control group, matched by socio-demographic characteristics and classified in sub-groups according to gender. Diagnoses were made using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV DD and PD/PDA, and the personality assessment was made using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 201 (MMPI-201). RESULTS: MMPI-201 profile of DD and PD/PDA groups has been characterised by a global increase of "neurotic triad" scales (Depression-Hypochondriasis-Hysteria) (D-Hs-Hy), more expressed in the DD group. Sub-groups of women and men with DD, when compared to the healthy control group, have a significant (p<0.01) increase on the F, Hs, D, Pd, Pa, Pt and Sc scales, and sub-groups with PD/PDA a significant (p<0.01) increase on the F, Hs, D, Hy, Pa, Pt and Sc scales. Scores on the F, D, Hy, Hs, Pt, and Sc scales were significantly higher (p<0.05), as well as on the scale Pa (p<0.01) in men suffering from DD than in the PD/PDA sub-group. Women suffering from DD, when compared to the PD/PDA women, showed a significant increase (p<0.05) on the F and Hy scales. CONCLUSION: Personality profiles of persons suffering from DD and PD/PDA are very similar, with differences being more dimensional than qualitative. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings have been discussed.

Perceived social support as a moderator between negative life events and depression in adolescence: implications for prediction and targeted prevention.

AIM AND BACKGROUND: The role of the perceived social support in prevention of depression in adolescence still remains an insufficiently explored problem. By integrating the results of the previous studies of moderator role of perceived social support between negative life events and depression in adolescence we set up two goals. One is to determine whether perceived social support has moderator role in the sample consisted of clinical, subclinical, and control respondents. Another goal is to identify in which group the interaction effect is significant, i.e. the perceived social support acts as moderator. METHODS: The sample consisted of 412 adolescents (61.7% female and 38.3% male) aged 13-17 years (mean = 15.70, SD = 1.22). We applied: Data sheet for all respondents; Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview; Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; Adolescent Life Events Questionnaire; Centre for Epidemiological Depression Scale. RESULTS: We have shown that the association between levels of depressive symptoms and negative life events changes as the value of the moderator variable perceived social support changes. The finding that the moderating interaction effect was significant only in the subclinical group is particularly interesting. CONCLUSIONS: Taking into account that perceived social support moderates the association between negative stress events and levels of depression, we can propose a model for the prevention of depression, which will include perceived social support. However, future research with longitudinal design is required to verify the results.

Risk factors and the prevalence of anorexia nervosa among female students in Serbia.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The widespread symptoms of anorexia netvosa (AN) in young women require to draw professional attention to this problem in Serbia. In previous research on AN, insecure attachment styles, perfectionism and concerns about body shape were identified as notable risk factors. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of AN among female students and assess the importance of these factors in its development. METHODS: The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40), the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) were applied to a sample of 500 randomly selected female students of the University of Belgrade, the mean age of 22.44 years (min 18, max 35). In addition, Body Mass Index (BMI) was also calculated. RESULTS: Although 38 (7.6%) female students displayed symptoms of AN (EAT > 30) and 13 (2.6%) had BMI indicating anorexia nervosa syndrome (B4I < or = 17.50 kg/m2), only 1 (0.2%) student fulfilled both criteria. The majority of female students (60.4%) had some type of insecure attachment style. There is a significant influence of attachment styles on symptoms of AN: female students with insecure attachment styles have a significantly higher mean score on the EAT compared to those with secure attachment style (F = 7.873; p < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between scores on the EAT and FMPS (r = 0.217;p < 0.01), and scores on the EAT and BSQ (r = 0.388; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results show the prevalence of AN of 0.2% among female students and indicate the importance of insecure attachment styles, perfectionism and concern about body shape as risk factors. Activities for the prevention of AN in this subpopulation should include internet-based therapy and special counseling services with specific programs focusing on emotion-regulation skills through mindfulness, acceptance and commitment techniques, as well as specific cognitive-behavioral techniques.