Dependent personality, separation anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders in OCD

Association between dependency and long sleep duration among elderly people: a community-based study

BACKGROUND

Long sleep duration is a common sleep disorder among elderly people. Dependency increases with increasing age. This study aimed to assess the association between dependency and long sleep duration among elderly people.

METHODS

This study is a population-based cross-sectional study. A total of 1152 participants aged ≥ 60 years were selected from 26 locations in China by a complex multistage sampling design. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Sleep duration was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Dependency was assessed using Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the efficacy of sleep-related factors and psychological factors for sleep duration. Analysis of covariance and logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the association between the dependency score and sleep duration, and the strength of dependency effect on sleep duration.

RESULTS

A total of 1120 participants were valid for the analysis. Among them, 15.8% of participants had a dependency score ≥60 points. The results of hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis showed that sleep duration was positively associated with dependency scores. Analysis of covariance indicated a J-shaped association between dependency scores and sleep duration. The results of logistic regression analysis showed dependency was significantly associated with long sleep duration, and the odds ratio was 3.52 (95% CI, 1.87-6.63; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Dependency was significantly associated with long sleep duration among elderly people. The results suggested that dependent intervention may be a strategy that needs urgent implementation to reduce long sleep duration among elderly people.

Attachment Style and Its Relationships with Early Memories of Separation Anxiety and Adult Separation Anxiety Symptoms among Emerging Adults

Emerging adulthood concerns the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It foresees the separation from the family and the creation of new significant relationships, whereby specific attachment styles might be triggered when facing these challenges. The present study investigates the influence of retrospective memories associated with childhood separation anxiety symptoms upon emerging adults’ romantic avoidant vs. anxious attachment styles including adult separation anxiety symptoms as mediators. Age and gender were included as covariates. A community sample of N = 394 Italian emerging adults (Mage = 23.64, SD = 4.00, 70% females) completed self-report measures. The results showed that the participants presented a greater anxious attachment rather than an avoidant attachment style. Moreover, both adult separation anxiety and the memories of early separation anxiety were positively and significantly associated with anxious attachment and not with avoidant attachment. A mediation model conducted and focused on anxious attachment showed that, although not directly associated, child separation anxiety did show a significant positive indirect effect on anxious attachment as mediated by adult separation anxiety symptoms. Thus, the findings highlighted the influence of adult separation anxiety symptoms and retrospective childhood memories of separation anxiety upon anxious adult romantic attachment, yet not on avoidant attachment style. Clinical implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.

Separation anxiety in a community sample of Italian emerging adults and its relationship with dimensions of borderline personality

Research studies focusing on separation anxiety and its relation with other measures of anxiety and personality-relevant variables in community samples are still scarce. This study aimed to describe in a dimensional perspective the relationship between separation anxiety symptoms, anxiety levels, and personality traits in a community sample of Italian emerging adults. A sample of 260 college students [mean age (M_age)=21.22, standard deviation (SD)=1.91, 79.6% females] completed the adult separation anxiety questionnaire-27 (ASA-27), the state and trait anxiety inventory-Y (STAI-Y), and the personality assessment inventory borderline scale (PAI-BOR). ASA-27 was significantly and positively correlated with the PAI borderline scale. The mediation model showed that ASA-27 influenced the PAI-BOR through trait anxiety. Clinical implications of the study for psychotherapy research are discussed.

The characteristics of the comorbidity between social anxiety and separation anxiety disorders in adult patients

Objective: In the present study, we compared social anxiety disorder (SAD) patients with (n = 31) and without childhood and adulthood separation anxiety disorder (SeAD) (n = 50) with respect to suicidal behavior, avoidant personality disorder (AvPD), other anxiety disorders (ADs), and major depression as well as some sociodemographic variables. Methods: In assessment of patients, we used Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms, childhood and adulthood Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventories, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, The SCID-II Avoidant Personality Disorder Module, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Results: SAD patients with SeAD had higher comorbidity rates of AvPD, other lifetime ADs and panic disorder, and current major depression than those without SeAD. The current scores of SAD, depression, and suicide ideation and the mean number of AvPD symptoms were significantly higher in comorbid group compared to pure SAD subjects. The SAD and SeAD scores had significant associations with current depression, suicide ideations, and AvPD. The mean number of AvPD criteria and the current severity of depression were significantly associated with the comorbidity between SAD and SeAD. Conclusion: Our findings might indicate that the comorbidity of SeAD with SAD may increase the risk of the severity of AvPD and current depression.

Hypochondriac concerns and correlates of personality styles and affective states in bipolar I and II disorders

BACKGROUND

Hypochondriac concerns are associated with the treatment-difficulty of bipolar disorder, which might be due to the personality styles and affective states.

METHODS

We invited outpatients with bipolar I disorder (BD I, n = 87), bipolar II disorder (BD II, n = 92) and healthy volunteers (n = 129) to undergo the Illness Attitude Scales and Parker Personality Measure tests, and measurements of concurrent affective states.

RESULTS

Compared to healthy volunteers, BD I and BD II patients scored significantly higher on mania, hypomania and depression. BD I and BD II patients also scored significantly higher on Symptom Effect and Treatment Seeking, and BD II patients scored higher on Patho-thanatophobia and Hypochondriacal Belief. BD II in addition scored higher on Patho-thanatophobia than BD I did. In controls, the Dependent style predicted Patho-thanatophobia and Symptom Effect, Schizoid with Hypochondriacal Belief; in BD I, Narcissistic (-) with Hypochondriacal Belief, Histrionic with Patho-thanatophobia and Hypochondriacal Belief, depression with Hypochondriacal Belief, and hypomania with Symptom Effect and Hypochondriacal Belief; in BD II, depression with Symptom Effect and Hypochondriacal Belief, mania with Symptom Effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Bipolar disorder, especially BD II, is associated with greater hypochondriac concerns, which relates to personality disorder functioning styles and concurrent affective states.

Detection of Significant Association Between Variants in Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Gene (CNR1) and Personality in African-American Population

Background: Several studies have revealed significant associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene and a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and schizophrenia. Personality traits that are highly related to susceptibility to these conditions have been associated with the CNR1 variants in subjects of Caucasian origin. However, there are no reported studies regarding the effects of CNR1 polymorphisms on personality traits in the African-American (AA) population. Methods: We performed an imputation-based association analysis for 26 CNR1 variants with five dimensions of personality in 3,046 AAs. Results: SNPs rs806372 and rs2180619 showed a significant association with extraversion after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing (p < 0.0019). Further, several extraversion-associated SNPs were significantly associated with conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness. SNP priority score analysis indicated that SNPs rs806368, rs806371, and rs2180619 play a role in the modulation of personality and psychiatric conditions. Conclusion:CNR1 is important in determining personality traits in the AA population.