Quality of life, social support, and adherence in female patients with thyroid disorders.

BACKGROUND: According to the 2010 European Health Interview Survey, 51% of women in Hungary have a chronic disease, and is among the poorest quartile in the EU countries. Thyroid diseases affected more than 650,000 women in 2021 based on a recent report by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. Despite the high prevalence rates, quality of life in these patients is scarcely researched in Hungary. To fill this gap, this study aims to explore the associations of the quality of life of thyroid patients in Hungary with social support and adherence. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted via an online questionnaire. Data from 885 female Hungarian thyroid patients with pharmacological treatment (M = 35.6 years, SD = 10.7, age range: 18-73 years) were analyzed. Participants were divided into two patient groups based on the type of thyroid disorder: hypothyroidism (n = 824; 93.1%) and hyperthyroidism (n = 61; 6.9%). Group comparisons, correlations, and a mediation model were performed to explore differences between thyroid patients. RESULTS: No differences were found between patients with different types of thyroid disorders in quality of life, adherence, and social support. Consistent, weak associations were found between quality of life and social support in both patient groups. Higher perceived social support partially explained the relationship between adherence and life quality in thyroid patients.  CONCLUSIONS: No substantial differences were found between patients with different types of thyroid disease in mental well-being indicators. These patients are psychologically more vulnerable and need a socially supportive environment to recover, because higher adherence is associated with a better quality of life, and social support can facilitate this process.

[The encounter of the 'Golden Priestess' with Sanyika - An analysis of the creative dynamics of the Weöres-Károlyi couple from the perspective of Amy Károlyi's oeuvre].

The circumstances of the encounter of the Weöres-Károlyi couple, as well as some dynamic details of their marriage, have been surrounded by considerable literary and public interest during the past decades. This interest however largely focused on the poetic oeuvre of Sándor Weöres and on his struggle with alcohol. However, the impact of this legendary encounter on Amy Károlyi's art has been a subject of few analyses. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding on the impact of this encounter with Sándor Weöres and the life- and creative fellowship with him had on Amy Károlyi's art and life, as well as what creative influences can be identified in the couple's oeuvre. The study identifies the most common beliefs ("legends") regarding the Weöres-Károlyi couple, as well as the most important literary imprints of their marital and creative community and their effects on Károlyi's poetry through an overview of Károlyi's confessional works. Based on the revealed biographical and artistic associations, it can be concluded that despite the fact, that Amy Károlyi's literary work was fulfilled in her marriage, and creative fellowship with Weöres, her figure still appears in literary memory as the support and "savior" of her husband, Weöres.

[Waking in the Blue: The representation and the role of the psychiatric disorder in Robert Lowell's confessional poetry].

BACKGROUND: Psychobiographical analyses of the significant representatives of confessional poetry are important in understanding both the genesis of the poems and the history of the authors' psychiatric disorders. Most of the American confessional poets have died by suicide but Robert Lowell avoided this sad faith. AIMS: The purpose of this present paper is to analyze how the psychiatric disorder has been captured in his confessio - nal poetry and what sorts of creative processes can be identified that have possibly contributed to the fact that Lowell avoided suicide. METHODS: Art-, biographical- and document analyses have been performed. The analyzed writings belong to the confessional-lyrical part of Lowell's oeuvre. The reconstruction of the biography- and the illness history have been conducted based on international publications. RESULTS: Robert Lowell was hospitalized for the first time due to a psychiatric disorder in 1949, at the age of 32. The diagnosis was bipolar disorder and he suffered from this disorder through the rest of his life. During his psychiatric treatments obvious relationships have been revealed between his hypomanic states and artistic creativity. Moreover, he felt that his illness had been playing an important part in his art and contributed to his identity. The onset of the episodes of his bipolar disorder and the processes of his artistic self-expression were intertwined. Accordingly, hypo - manic states served as sources for creativity and the illness itself became an important theme in his poetry. CONCLUSIONS: Robert Lowell's artistic viewpoint, his desire for freedom and the sensitive way he was able to show Ame - rica in the mid-twentieth century all might have been in relationship with his psychiatric illness. His unique per - spective and artistic and political sensitivity made him one of the most admired poets of his era and maybe the same sensitivity contributed to his unexpected death at the age of 60. Professional psychiatric treatments, creative generative processes and the received support from family members and friends were those factors that might have been helped him in avoiding suicide.

[From the experience to anger: The elaboration of the feelings against the parents in the art of Sylvia Plath].

AIM: The purpose of this present paper is to demonstrate the biographical antecedents and the adverse childhood experiences, which might have possibly contributed to those ambivalent feelings which can be observed in Sylvia Plath's confessional art in relation to her parents. METHOD: Biographical-, document- and artistic analyzes. The analyzed artistic pieces are the following: Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams, The Bell Jar, Collected poems (from The Colossus and Ariel books) and the Journals by Sylvia Plath. The reconstruction of the biography was conducted based on international textbooks. RESULTS: Sylvia Plath at the age of 30, on the 12th of October, 1962 wrote her famous poem, Daddy, which starts with these lines: "You do not do, you do not do /Any more, black shoe/In which I have lived like a foot For thirty years, poor and white,/Barely daring to breathe or Achoo. Daddy, I have had to kill you./You died before I had time/Marble-heavy, a bag full of God/Ghastly statue with one gray toe/Big as a Frisco seal/And a head in the freakish Atlantic /Where it pours bean green over blue/In the waters off beautiful Nauset./I used to pray to recover you. /Ach, du Dreck." A couple of months later, on the 11th of February 1963. Sylvia Plath committed suicide. Her journal entries and her works all testified that the emotional relationship with her parents significantly contributed to her genuine art and at the same time to the onset of her psychiatric illness. According to her journals, Sylvia Plath reported hate and ambivalent feelings several times to her psychiatrists. It is very likely, that the illness and death of Otto Plath and the emotional crises afterwards might have been that primary experience that might have exercised an adverse effect on Sylvia's life, and what have been composed very vividly in the poem called Daddy. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the analyzes of the biography, the journals and the poems, it can be stated, that the adverse childhood experiences, Sylvia had to experience during her father's illness, after his death, and during the restructuring of the family system are vital in the understanding of Sylvia Plath's art and her psychopathology.

[Associations between concurrent use of tobacco and alcohol and symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder among ninth grader students]. / A dohányzás és az alkoholfogyasztás együttes elofordulásának összefüggései a figyelemhiányos hiperaktivitás-zavar tüneteivel kilencedik osztályos tanulók körében.

INTRODUCTION: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is a risk factor of smoking and alcohol drinking in adolescence. Since attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and smoking and alcohol drinking in adolescence are predictors for the development of substance use disorders in adulthood, it is important to understand the nature of these associations. AIM: The aim of the authors was to investigate associations between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and the joint use of alcohol and nicotine among 9th graders. METHOD: A representative sample of 944 pupils attending state-run secondary schools in Budapest were recruited. Generalized Linear Mixed Model and logistic regression analyses have been conducted. RESULTS: The prevalence was 29.6% and 41.4% for current smoking and current alcohol drinking, respectively. The prevalence of their concurrent-use was 21.7%. Alcohol drinking and smoking showed a significant positive association with the total scores of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Scale and with the Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity subscales. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the potential importance of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in the development of the joint use of these substances.

Psychometric characteristics of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) and the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test-Extended (DUDIT-E) among young drug users in Hungary.

BACKGROUND: The Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) was developed for problematic substance use screening, and for a more detailed assessment of problematic use, the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test-Extended (DUDIT-E) was additionally developed. PURPOSE: Examining the psychometric properties of DUDIT and DUIT-E across diverse settings in populations of young drug users. METHODS: We examined the psychometric characteristics of these instruments across various settings in populations of young substance users differing in substance use severity and treatment status. Data were collected from three clinically relevant groups (n = 259) as well as a control sample of college students (n = 109). RESULTS: Reliability analyses indicated good internal consistency for both instruments; high intraclass correlations further indicated good test-retest reliability. Differences among study groups were significant on the DUDIT scale and all DUDIT-E subscales (p < 0.01), with the target groups exhibiting higher scores compared to controls. A two-factor solution was identified for the factor structure of DUDIT. CONCLUSION: The Hungarian version of DUDIT and DUDIT-E can effectively identify substance use problems among young users.

Assessing meaningful work among Hungarian employees: testing psychometric properties of work and meaning inventory in employee subgroups.

BACKGROUND: The construct of meaningful work (MW) has become the subject of various studies. Workers who experience MW have higher career and organizational commitment, report fewer days absent, and are characterized by a higher level of well-being. The aim of this study is to test a measure of MW, the Work and Meaning Inventory by Steger et al. This measure was created on theoretical background, and it constructs MW from three dimensions: psychological meaning, meaning-making, and greater good motivation. METHODS: The analysis was conducted in a Hungarian sample (N = 2,498), using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multiple-group CFA. RESULTS: The three-dimensional model of the WAMI was confirmed in the analysis. In our study, the measure proved to be reliable, even in the test-retest analysis. Moreover, the discriminant and convergent validity of the WAMI was tested, with various relevant constructs: the presence and the search for life meaning, life satisfaction, and job satisfaction. Also a multiple-group CFA was conducted with the three-factor model, confirming measurement invariance regarding sex and working position. CONCLUSIONS: In line with the original version of the WAMI, the three-dimensional model was confirmed, with good psychometric properties in the Hungarian working context.

[The Hungarian adaptation of Anxiety disorder module in the SCID-I/NP research version]. / A SCID-I/NP kutatási változata szorongásos zavarok fejezetének magyarországi adaptációja.

BACKGROUND: The SCID-I structured clinical interview based on the DSM-IV-TR criteria is widely used in internationally, but the reliability and validity of its Hungarian version has not been investigated. This paper presents the results of the first validity and reliability study of the Hungarian version of the SCID-I/NP's (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders Non-patient Edition) Anxiety Disorders module. METHODS: The language adaptation of the diagnostic interview and of the user's guide was conducted in accordance with the WHO recommendations. MEASURES: SCID-I/NP Overview and Screening module; SCID-I/NP Module F: Anxiety Disorders; Tests providing external validity: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The study sample consisted of 741 patients attended at three GP's offices. The trial's duration was two months. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: GLM analysis, Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Kappa and weighted Kappa statistics. RESULTS: Results showed a significant interrater-agreement between the rater pairs. For screening modules yealding negative results, the false-negative analysis indicated a subthreshold positive diagnosis in one case. External validity analyses showed significant discrepancies in terms of gender, marital status and past psychiatric treatments among the three sample groups including those with diagnosis present, subthreshold diagnosis, diagnosis absent. In terms of the psychometric scales, we found significant differences on the BAI and the ASRS in these groups. In the case of AQ we found significant differences in total score and in the factors of hostility and anger: the diagnosis present group showed significantly elevated severity values compared to the other two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The Anxiety Disorders Module of the SCID-I/NP is suitable for detecting anxiety disorders in non-psychiatric population, and hence enables the early admission for treatment.

[Comorbidity of substance abuse and psychosis. Results of a multicenter study ]. / A drógfüggôség és a pszichotikus tünetek komorbiditása. Egy többközpontú kutatás eredményei.

The comorbidity of psychotic disorders and substance misuse disorder (SUD) is a well known and documented phenomenon. The aim of the present study was to find an answer to the question whether among the known Hungarian drug addicts how severe are the occurrence of the psychotic symptoms. The study sample consisted 194 out of 200 clinically treated drug addicts. The instruments used for the investigation were the European Adolescent Assessment Dialogue (Euro ADAD) and the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL 90-R). The most important findings suggest that the clinically relevant psychotic states were quite rare. The highest values of PSY subscale were associated with dependent people on the "other drugs" (hallucinogens, solvents), cocaine, alcohol and heroin. The correlation between the values of the subscale and the usage of the ambulant or hospital form of mental health care was not too strong, yet significant.