[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.

[Adaptation of the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire to the Turkish Language and Investigation of its Psychometric Properties]. / Kisilerarasi Duygu Düzenleme Ölçeginin Türkçeye Uyarlanmasi ve Psikometrik Özelliklerinin Incelenmesi.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to adapt the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ) to Turkish, and to investigate its psychometric properties.  METHOD: A total of 467 volunteers with a mean age of 26.63 years participated to the study. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted after preparing the Turkish version of the IERQ. The relationships between IERQ and other emotion regulation scales were investigated for criterion-related validity. In order to assess reliability, internal consistency coefficients were calculated and subsequently, testretest analyses were repeated on 50 students.  RESULTS: As in the original form the Turkish version of IERQ has a 4- factor structure, 'social modelling', 'soothing', 'enhancing positive affect' and 'perspective taking'. As expected, these factors were related to various emotion regulation strategies. Particularly the social modelling and soothing factors differed according to the level of difficulties in emotion regulation. These factors were found to be related to depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Furthermore, the Turkish version of the IERQ satisfied the conditions of reliability. The internal consistency coefficients of factors were between .81 and .89. Test-retest correlation coefficients were found to be strong.  CONCLUSION: This study showed that the Turkish version of IERQ is a reliable and valid scale for the Turkish population. The psychometric properties of the Turkish version were similar to those of the original form.

[The Impact of Early Losses, Attachment, Temperament-Character Traits and Affect Regulation on the Development of Psychopathology]. / Erken Kayiplar, Baglanma, Mizaç-Karakter Özellikleri ve Duygu Düzenlemenin Psikopatoloji Gelisimi Üzerine Etkisi.

OBJECTIVE: The role of developmental issues and the constitutional factors are crucial in conceptualization of psychopathology. The main aim of this research was to investigate the impact of early losses, attachment styles, affect regulation and temperament-character traits on psychopathology. Furthermore, the other aim was to examine the mediator role of affect regulation and attachment styles between harm avoidance temperament trait and psychopathology. METHOD: The research sample was composed of two groups being clinical group (n = 224) and healthy control group (n = 61). The clinical group included major depressive disorder (n = 78), anxiety disorder (n = 74) and somatization disorder (n = 72). Data collection tools involved Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, The Experiences in Close Relationships-II, Temperament Character Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Early Losses Search Form. RESULTS: It was found that the losses that the clinical group had experienced during their childhood period were higher than the control group. The clinical group had more anxious and avoidant attachment styles; had more difficulties in emotion regulation; used the adaptational cognitive emotion regulation strategies less and the non-adaptational strategies more; had higher harm avoidance scores than the healthy group. Moreover, it was found that both the emotion regulation difficulties and attachment styles had a partial mediating effect between harm avoidance and depression and anxiety. CONCLUSION: It was shown that the early relationships and experiences have an impact on the further development of psychopathology and take an important place in understanding the etiology of depression and anxiety.

Do coping styles mediate the relationship between disability status and psychosocial loss in people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis?

The main aim of this cross-sectional study was to analyse the degree to which coping may act as a mediator between disability and psychosocial loss in people with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. Participants ( N = 158) completed measures of psychosocial loss and ways of coping. Disability status was evaluated by attending neurologists. Coping partially mediated the relationship between disability and psychosocial loss. Disability leads to the experience of psychosocial loss but it is not the sole factor determining the formation of psychosocial loss. Coping is also associated with such losses in multiple sclerosis.

[Factorial structure, validity, and reliability of the Turkish temperament and character inventory]. / Mizaç ve Karakter Envanteri'nin Türkçe Formunun Faktör Yapisi, Geçerlik ve Güvenilirligi.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the factorial structure, reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), a 240-item, self-report, paper-and-pencil test, and true-false format inventory based on Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality. It measures the four higher-order temperament dimensions and three character dimensions. METHOD: Using samples consisting of 470 healthy volunteers and 544 psychiatric patients, psychometric features were explored. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the scales was good (Cronbach alpha coefficients between 0.68 and 0.84), but weak for Reward dependence (0.55) and Persistence (0.56). The factor structures of the temperament and character dimensions, explored separately, were in agreement with the hypothesized constructs, except for the scales NS1 (Novelty Seeking 1 = exploratory excitability) and SD4 (Self-directedness 4 -- self-acceptance). The present study also confirmed that the TCI scales were weakly related among themselves. On the whole, psychiatric patients had higher harm avoidance and lower self-directedness, persistence, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence scores than the normal subjects. Gender differences were also found for different dimensions. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that the TCI can be applied in the investigation of psychiatric and normal populations.