Defense styles, personality traits, and psychopathological symptoms in nonclinical adolescents

Polytraumatization, defense mechanisms, PTSD and complex PTSD in Indian adolescents: a mediation model

BACKGROUND

Adolescence is recognized as a particularly susceptible developmental period for experiencing multiple types of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), increasing the vulnerability to higher levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD symptoms. Some studies found that defense mechanisms play an important role on the association between ACE and psychological symptoms.

METHODS

We analyzed the associations between direct and indirect exposure to ACE and PTSD and Complex PTSD (affective dysregulation, negative self-concept and disturbances in relationships) through the mediation role of mature defense mechanisms: mature, neurotic, and immature defense mechanisms in Indian adolescents. A sample of 411 Indian adolescents (M = 14.2 years old; S.D. = 0.5) completed validated self-report questionnaires. Serial multiple mediation models were tested by conducting a structural equation modelling employing Preacher and Hayes' procedures (2008).

RESULTS

Immature and neurotic defense mechanisms mediated the association between direct exposure to ACE with PTSD symptoms. Immature defense mechanisms were mediators of the relationship between direct exposure to ACE and Complex PTSD symptoms clusters.

CONCLUSIONS

Maladaptive defense mechanisms can disturb the process of self-regulation and emotion regulation capabilities in coping with traumatic experiences, leading to higher PTSD and Complex PTSD symptoms severity.

Comparison of adolescent referred involuntarily or voluntarily to psychiatric hospitalization

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

To study in an adolescent clinical inpatient population how clinical, background and psychological factors differ between adolescents referred voluntarily or involuntarily.

METHODS

In this prospective cohort study, we compared adolescents (age 13-17 years, n = 206) who had been referred to psychiatric hospitalization for the first time in their life either voluntarily (n = 144) or involuntarily (n = 62). We gathered from clinical records data on the source, mode and reason for referral as well as on whether after referral the subjects were admitted to the hospital voluntarily or not, and whether they were committed to involuntary hospitalization after the observation period. Diagnostics was based on Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) interview, supplemented by information from clinical records. Structured self-reports provided information on family background, depressive symptoms, substance use, defense styles, self-image and perceived social support.

RESULTS

The majority of referrals due to psychotic symptoms were involuntary, whereas self-harm was the primary reason for involuntary and voluntary referrals in comparable extent. After diagnostic evaluation, no significant difference in psychotic disorders was observed between the two groups, but anxiety disorders were more prevalent among inpatients referred voluntarily than involuntarily. Among adolescents referred involuntary, parents were more often unemployed and had mental health problems. In self-assessments, mature defense style and more positive self-image were associated with adolescents referred involuntarily compared with those referred voluntarily.

CONCLUSIONS

Not only psychiatric but also psychological and social factors were associated with involuntary referral for psychiatric hospitalization in adolescents.

Do Immature Defense Mechanisms Mediate the Relationship Between Shame, Guilt, and Psychopathological Symptoms?

When shame and guilt emotional experiences related to stressful events remain unresolved, they can be related to psychological impairment and recursive thoughts. The present study aims to explore the association between state shame and state guilt related to past stressful experiences and psychopathological symptoms and evaluating a mediation role by immature defenses. A total of 90 participants (48.9% female; mean age 23.66) were considered in the present study to (a) investigate correlations between state guilt and shame scores related to personal stressful events and psychopathological symptoms related to global severity index; (b) assess whether state guilt and shame scores related to personal stressful events are positively correlated with immature defenses; (c) test whether immature defenses mediates the relationship between, respectively, state shame and state guilt with psychopathological symptoms. Significant correlations between state shame, state guilt, psychopathological symptoms, and immature defenses were found. Higher activations on immature defenses partially mediated the relationship between psychopathological symptoms and state shame and state guilt, respectively. Past experiences related to shame and guilt should be targeted by specific treatments that could help stop recursive maladaptive thoughts and empower more adaptive defensive strategies.

Psychotic Experiences and Sleep Quality in the Emerging Adulthood: The Interplay Between Emotional Neglect, Bodily Threat, and Defense Mechanisms

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the integrated role of emotional neglect, bodily threat, and defense mechanisms in understanding sleep quality and psychosis experiences in a sample of emerging adults. A sample of 898 emerging adults (295 males) with an age range between 19 and 30 years participated in this study. The emotional neglect and bodily threat factors of the Traumatic Experiences Checklist, the Defense Style Questionnaire-40, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the psychosis factor of the Inventory of Personality Organization were administered. Results of path analyses showed that the emotional neglect and bodily threat factors predicted lower sleep quality. A path from emotional neglect and bodily threat to sleep quality via defense styles was also found. The defense styles mediated the relationships between emotional neglect and bodily threat factor with psychosis experiences. These findings provide new insight into the psychological mechanisms underlying the onset of poor sleep quality and psychotic experiences during emerging adulthood.

Adolescent Inpatients with Depression: Comparison to Inpatients without Depression and to Peers without Psychiatric Disorders

Background:

Family background, social support and psychological characteristics are known to be associated with depression in adolescence, but scientific data in complex, naturalistic settings are scarce.

Objective:

To investigate the characteristics of adolescent psychiatric inpatients with depressive disorders compared to peers without psychiatric disorders and to adolescent psychiatric inpatients without depression.

Methods:

The study population of 206 inpatients (13-17 years old) and 203 age and gendermatched non-referred adolescents was evaluated using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) interview, and clinical interview and clinical records when available. Structured self-reports provided information on family background, defense styles, self-image and perceived social support. We compared firstly subjects with current depressive disorders (n=120) to subjects without any psychiatric disorder (n=159) and secondly within the inpatient population, those with depressive disorders (n=117) to those with any other psychiatric diagnoses (n=89).

Results:

Current depressive disorders were characterized by worse self-image, less mature defenses and less perceived social support particularly from the family. Adversities in the family were more prevalent in subjects with depression compared to subjects without any psychiatric diagnosis, while among inpatients, no significant differences were observed. Psychiatric comorbidity was common in all inpatients, whereas suicidality was more prevalent among inpatients with depression.

Conclusions:

Negative self-image, less mature defense style and low perceived social support particularly from the family were characteristics of depression in adolescents.

Defense Mechanisms, Gender, and Adaptiveness in Emerging Personality Disorders in Adolescent Outpatients

The present study focused on demographic and personality differences in the use of 30 defense mechanisms in adolescents with personality psychopathology and explored the hierarchical organization of personality traits based on the adaptiveness of defensive functioning. A total of 102 self-referred adolescent outpatients were interviewed and assessed on defense mechanisms and personality traits using the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales and the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure 200 for Adolescents, respectively. Age and gender differences were found throughout the hierarchy. Pearson's correlations revealed a hierarchical organization of emerging personality disorders (PDs) in adolescence. More adaptive defenses were clearly associated with healthier personality style, whereas more pathological personality styles such as those with borderline traits were characterized by more rigid and maladaptive defenses. Dissociation was also associated with maladaptive personality types. Identifying the defenses associated with emerging personality disorders may inform the unconscious function of defense mechanisms in specific PDs. The systematic assessment of defense mechanisms might also help therapists to monitor changes during treatment.

Defense Style of Children and Adolescents: Differences and Ability to Discriminate Among Clinical Categories

This study assessed the defense style of children referred to an outpatient clinic and examined what this style contributes to discriminating among various disorder categories, beyond internalizing and externalizing symptoms. A sample of 433 children and adolescents were grouped into four disorder categories: disruptive, depressive, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Their parents completed the Comprehensive Assessment of Defense Style (CADS: mature, self-oriented, and other-oriented) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL: internalizing and externalizing symptoms). The disorder categories differed in the use of other-oriented defenses (e.g., acting-out, projection), whereas the CADS helped in properly discriminating most diagnostic categories beyond the CBCL. Information provided by the children themselves was missing, as was a subsample of nonclinical participants; these sources could strengthen the conclusions of the study. Assessing children's defense style together with their symptoms may result in better statistical discrimination among diagnostic categories.

Self-injury, psychiatric symptoms, and defense mechanisms: Findings in an Italian nonclinical sample

Introduction

This study provides data on the rates, characteristics, and correlates of self-injury (SI) in an Italian nonclinical sample, a population previously unexamined within the SI literature. This study examined the associations between SI and defense mechanisms, as well as the differences between self-injurers (episodic and recurrent) and non self-injurers with regard to the severity and variety of their psychiatric symptoms and psychological distress.

Materials and methods

Five hundred and seventy-eight university students (82.5% female; mean age = 22.3; S.D. = 3.4) were administered a battery of self-report questionnaires, including the “Deliberate Self Harm Inventory” for SI, the Response Evaluation Measure-71 for defense mechanisms, and the “Symptom Checklist-90-Revised” for psychological distress and psychiatric symptoms.

Results

One hundred and nineteen participants (20.6%) reported having engaged in SI at least once during their lifetime. Individuals with recurrent SI (SI ≥ 5) reported significantly higher levels of all psychiatric symptoms and many maladaptive defense mechanisms than individuals without SI. Results also provided evidence for differences between individuals with recurrent and episodic SI.

Conclusion

Results suggest that recurrent self-injurers are distinguished from both episodic self-injurers and non self-injurers by their greater use of maladaptive defense mechanisms, rather than their lesser use of adaptive defenses. Further, results suggest that recurrent self-injurers differ from episodic self-injurers not in terms of the severity of their psychiatric symptoms, but the variety and number of these symptoms.

High Beck Depression Inventory 21 scores in adolescents without depression are associated with negative self-image and immature defense style

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is widely used in assessing adolescents' psychological wellbeing, but occasionally the result diverges from diagnostics. Our aim was to identify factors associated with discrepancies between BDI scores and diagnostic assessment in adolescent psychiatric patients and general population. The study comprised 206 inpatients (13-17 years old) and 203 age and gender matched non-referred adolescents. Study subjects filled self-reports on depression symptoms (BDI-21), alcohol use (AUDIT), defense styles (DSQ-40) and self-image (OSIQ-R), and on background information and adverse life events. Diagnostics was based on K-SADS-PL interview, and/or clinical interview and clinical records when available. We compared subjects who scored in BDI-21 either 0-15 points or 16-63 points firstly among subjects without current unipolar depression (n = 284), secondly among those with unipolar depression (n = 105). High BDI-21 scores in subjects without depression diagnosis (n = 48) were associated with female sex, adverse life events, parents' psychiatric problems, higher comorbidity, higher AUDIT scores, worse self-image and more immature defense styles. Low BDI-21 scores among subjects with depression diagnosis (n = 23) were associated with male sex, more positive self-image and less immature defense style. In conclusion, high BDI-21 scores in the absence of depression may reflect a broad range of challenges in an adolescent's psychological development.

Can the Factor Structure of Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) Contribute to Our Understanding of Parental Acceptance/Rejection, Bullying, Victimization and Perceived Well-Being in Greek Early Adolescents?

Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ) is a self-report instrument designed to measure defense mechanisms. Although commonly used, the DSQ-40 has not been validated in early adolescent populations. The present study sought to determine the factor validity of the DSQ-40 in a sample of Greek primary school students (N = 265). Further, it aimed to investigate the relationship between defense mechanisms and perceived parental acceptance/rejection, the participation in bullying (either as bully or victim) as well as self-reported well being. Participants completed the Greek version of DSQ-40, adapted for use by this particular age group as well as measures in order to examine its convergent and discriminant validity. The findings support a four-factor solution as the most adequate for our data. Further, it was found that defense mechanisms are related to perceived parental acceptance and rejection. Finally, the results showed that the DSQ-40 can effectively discriminate participants with high/low bullying/victimization and perceived well-being. Our results indicate that the DSQ-40 is appropriate for use in late childhood. Implications for clinical practice and future studies that would confirm the appropriateness of the scale’s use in younger populations are also discussed.

Do spinal cord-injured individuals with stronger sense of coherence use different psychological defense styles?

OBJECTIVES

Although the importance of sense of coherence (SOC) and psychological defense mechanisms (PDMs) in the process of coping has been demonstrated, it has not yet been clarified whether individuals with stronger SOC use specific PDMs.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

Iran.

METHODS

Demographic and injury-related variables including injury level, time since injury, American Spinal Cord Association (ASIA) Scale and Spinal cord independence measure-III were collected among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). SOC was assessed by the Short-form Sense of Coherence Scale. PDMs were identified using 40-version of the Defense Style Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Neurotic defense style was the most commonly used style especially. The overall most commonly used PDM was 'rationalization', which was used by 95%. Individuals with stronger SOC used more mature style (P=0.001, r=0.52), particularly 'humor' and 'suppression' mechanisms (P<0.0001 and 0.024, respectively). There was a negative correlation between stronger SOC and the use of immature defenses including passive aggression (P=0.001, r=-0.51), acting out (P=0.001, r=-0.48), isolation (P=0.009, r=-0.50), autistic fantasy (P=0.010, r=-0.30) and somatization (P<0.0001, r=-0.62). Married individuals had significantly stronger SOC (P=0.01). Age, gender, age at the time of injury incidence, time since injury, ASIA score and cause of injury were not determinants of SOC.

CONCLUSION

In this study, PDMs, which are more probable to be used by individuals with stronger SOC, have been identified. Mature defenses including 'humor' and 'suppression' are used by stronger SOC more often, whereas immature mechanisms are less likely to be used.

Adolescent Defense Style as Correlate of Problem Behavior

Abstract. Objective: Adolescent problem behaviors are often the visible results of intrapsychic distress. Defensive reactions are the unconscious means of managing intrapsychic distress. This cross-sectional study examines the strength of defensive style as measured by self-report on the Response Evaluation Measure (REM-71) relative to age, sex, and SES, as a correlate of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors, as assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR). Methods: A sample of 1,487 students from two suburban high schools completed self-report measures of defense style, self-esteem, and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Demographic variables (age, sex, and SES) were included as covariates. Results: Mature and immature defense style correlated as expected with problem behaviors. Demographic variables contributed minimally to the variance in the outcome variable. Conclusions: Defense style, as assessed by the REM-71, is a significant correlate of clinically elevated internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in youth as in adults. This study adds to the convergent validity of the REM-71.

Defensive functioning and psychopathology: a study with the REM-71

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study is to explore the association between defensive functioning (as assessed through the REM-71) and psychiatric symptoms in a large sample from the community, and the moderating role of age and gender on that association. Furthermore, we explored the concurrent validity of REM-71 as compared with "caseness" (SCL-90-R).

METHODS

The REM-71 was administered together with SCL-90-R to a community sample of 1,060 Italian high-school and university students (mean age=19.01±3.85 years; 66.7% females).

RESULTS

Factor 1 defenses were by far the primary contributors to the predictor synthetic variable (i.e. association between defenses and psychopathology). Gender proved to moderate the association between immature defenses and symptoms. Using ROC analysis, we derived a cut-off score for Factor 1 defenses.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results support the adoption of the REM-71 as a useful instrument for the assessment of defensive array and psychopathological liability in adolescents and adults.

Defense mechanisms in congenital and acquired facial disfigurement: a clinical-empirical study

It is of clinical interest to investigate the degree to which patients with facial disfigurement use defense styles. Therefore, 59 adults born with rare facial clefts, 59 patients with facial deformities acquired at an adult age, and a reference group of 141 adults without facial disfigurements completed standardized questionnaires. There was a significant difference between the group with and the group without disfigurements on immature defense styles, with the disfigured group using the immature style more frequently. There was a trend for the nondisfigured group to use more mature defense styles. No difference between congenital and acquired groups was seen on individual types of defense style. Self-esteem had the strength to differentiate mature and immature defense styles within our disfigured groups. The association of low self-esteem and the utilization of immature defense styles suggests that professional help may tailor treatment on discussing immature defense style and problems triggering or maintaining this style.

Cognitive coping and defense styles in patients with personality disorders

This study investigates the associations between cognitive coping (as measured with the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; CERQ), defense mechanisms (as measured with the Defense Style Questionnaire-60; DSQ-60) and personality disorders (PDs; as measured with the SIDP-IV interview) in a large sample of patients with PDs (n = 1,435). Explorative factor analyses indicated that the nine CERQ subscales can be clustered into three higher-order factors (adaptive coping, non-adaptive coping and external attribution style). When compared to a general population sample, the PD sample particularly scored higher on nonadaptive coping styles. A higher number of PDs was related to a particularly higher level of nonadaptive coping and less mature defensive functioning, but also to lower levels of adaptive coping and external attribution. This study is the first to suggest that three higher-order coping styles can be identified among PD patients, and that these coping styles are related to the presence and number of PDs.

Person-related protective and vulnerability factors of psychopathology symptoms in non-clinical adolescents

Psychopathology in youths is thought to originate from a dynamic interplay of a variety of protective and vulnerability factors. In this study, a large multi-ethnic sample of non-clinical adolescents (N = 376) completed questionnaires for measuring a wide range of person-related protective and vulnerability factors as well as psychopathology symptoms, in order to explore (a) the relations among various protective and vulnerability factors, and (b) the unique contributions of these protective and vulnerability factors to different types of psychological problems. Results indicated that the overlap among protective and vulnerability factors was quite modest. Further, it was found that factors clustered in theoretically meaningful components reflecting protection, vulnerability, and more specific aspects of coping and social support. Finally, data indicated that each type of psychopathology symptoms was associated with a typical set of protective and vulnerability factors. Although these results should be interpreted with caution because of the cross-sectional nature of the study, they may nevertheless guide future research exploring multifactorial models of psychopathology in youths.

Psychopathology, defence mechanisms, and the psychosocial work environment

BACKGROUND

The body of evidence verifies the predictive value of certain work characteristics for mental health problems and that various levels of adaptation mechanisms are employed when dealing with adversity. Data on the relationships between employees' mental health status, their perceptions of work, and their psychological defences are scarce.

AIMS

To examine the role that personal defences play in the relationship between psychiatric symptoms among working people and their working environment.

METHODS

Nine hundred and seventy six employees (mean age = 42.4 years, SD = 11.3) participated in a questionnaire study that included the Defence Style Questionnaire, the Symptom Checklist 90 revised, and the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire .

RESULTS

Data showed that greater maturity of psychological defences was associated with higher level of psychological functioning and there were strong associations between presence of psychopathology and the three defence clusters.

RESULT

s indicated a strong positive correlation between the mature defence style and the perception of a satisfactory workplace. There was no interaction between psychopathology and defences in relation to work environment.

CONCLUSION

Psychopathology and defences were significantly associated with work conditions, which could suggest that adaptation mechanisms and psychopathology are two independent forms of adjustment to the rapidly changing world of work.

Greek EPQ-J: Further Support for a Three-Factor Model of Personality in Children and Adolescents

This study aimed to investigate the validity of the Eysenckian personality dimensions in 1,368 children and adolescents who completed the Greek Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Junior (EPQ-J). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed. Controversial issues regarding the Lie and Psychoticism scales were also investigated. Finally, the predictive validity of the EPQ-J was assessed using Goodman’s Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analytic results supported the four-factor structure of the scale. Results provide support for the appropriateness of the EPQ-J with Greek speaking samples and add to the international literature regarding the three-factor model of personality in children and adolescents.

The Italian version of the Response Evaluation Measure-71

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Response Evaluation Measure (REM-71), a 71-item self-report measure previously developed for the assessment of defenses in adults and adolescents. The authors also examined the differences in the use of defenses based on sex and age (early adolescence, late adolescence, and early adulthood), and the association between defenses, psychosocial health, and psychologic distress in a large community sample.

METHOD

The Italian version of REM-71 was obtained through back-translation and administered to 1648 (1020 female subjects, mean age = 19.5 years, SD = +/-5.77) community subjects, aged between 13 and 68 years, voluntarily recruited among high school and university students in Milan, Italy, and the surrounding area. All subjects completed a self-report measure to assess demographic variables and satisfaction with life. A subsample (n = 1197) completed the Italian version of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised to assess symptoms of psychologic distress.

RESULTS

Results were highly consistent with those obtained in the original English version of the REM-71 and included satisfactory internal consistency of the measure. Factor analyses yielded 2 principal factors that showed overall stability across age and sex subgroups. Factor 1 and factor 2 defenses were significantly correlated, in line with theoretical expectations, with positive and negative aspects of various domains of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Results provide further support for the structure and validity of the REM-71 as a useful instrument for the assessment of defenses in adolescents and adults and suggest no major cross-cultural differences in the organization of these defenses.

A structural equation model of depression and the defense system factors: a survey among Chinese college students

Questionnaires were administered to a large sample of subjects (1363 Chinese college students), to evaluate the mediating risk factors in the defense system of depression, including personality, coping skills, interpersonal context and family environment. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze a total of 12 variables in order to understand how they interact with each other. Eysenck's Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Psychoticism personality types act as the essential parts of the model, both directly and indirectly impacting depression. Coping styles are the mediators that regulate the effects of personality and family environment on depression. Family environment has only indirect effects through personality and positive coping style. Interpersonal context may not have had a significant correlation with depression, but was influenced by family environment and had a correlation with positive coping style. According to the results, therapies based on personality adjustment, family environment and coping styles of college students are greatly recommended among college students in order to lessen the chances of or to prevent depression. The present results may advance our understanding of depression etiology in young Chinese adults and provide suggestions of factors that should be taken into account in the evaluation, treatment and even the prevention of depression.

Self-reported reactive and regulative temperament in early adolescence: Relations to internalizing and externalizing problem behavior and “Big Three” personality factors

The present study examined the relations between self-reported reactive and regulative temperament factors and psychopathological symptoms and personality traits in a group of non-clinical youths aged 9-13 years (N=208). Results showed that the reactive temperament factor of negative affectivity was positively associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms, whereas the regulative temperament factor of effortful control was negatively related to such symptoms. Further analyses provided some support for the notion that in particular the combination of high negative affectivity and low effortful control was associated with high symptom levels. Results also revealed specific relations between lower-order temperament traits and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. That is, fear and (low) attention control appeared to be more clearly associated with internalizing symptoms, whereas anger/frustration and (low) activation and inhibitory control were more convincingly linked to externalizing symptoms. Finally, relations with the "Big Three" personality traits were as anticipated, with high positive correlations between negative affectivity and extraversion/surgency and their Eysenckian counterparts of neuroticism and extraversion, respectively.

Relationship between defenses, personality, and affect during a stress task in normal adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Although there are extensive data on the relationship between personality and stress reactivity in adults, there is little comparable empirical research with adolescents. This study examines the simultaneous relationships between long term functioning (personality, defenses) and observed stress reactivity (affect) in adolescents.

METHODS

High school students (N = 169; mean age 16; 73 girls) were asked to participate in two conditions of the Stress Induced Speech Task (SIST): Free Association and Stressful Situation. Immature and mature defenses, distress and restraint personality dimensions, and negative and positive affect were examined.

RESULTS

Greater reported use of immature defenses was significantly associated with negative affect, whereas greater reported use of mature defenses was significantly associated with greater positive affect. Although personality style was also a significant predictor of negative affect across two out of three conditions, defenses were better overall predictors of affect than were personality dimensions. Gender was also a significant predictor of negative affect, wherein girls reported more negative affect than boys.

DISCUSSION

Defenses and personality style predict affective response during a moderately stressful task. Immature defenses and, to a lesser extent, the distress personality dimension predict mobilization of negative affect, whereas mature defenses predict the reporting of positive affect. These results relate to processes central to psychotherapy: defensive responding, personality style, and affective reactivity during the recounting of stressful events.

Psychometric Properties of the Behavioral Inhibition Scale in Young Adults

Abstract. The Behavioral Inhibition Scale (BIS) is a brief questionnaire for measuring Kagan's (1994) temperamental characteristic of children and adolescents to be unusually shy and to react with fear and withdrawal in situations that are novel and/or unfamiliar. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the BIS in two separate samples of undergraduate students (Ns = 124 and 73). The students of Sample 1 completed the BIS as well as questionnaires for measuring personality traits, anxiety, and other psychopathological symptoms, whereas students of Sample 2 completed the scale as well as a widely used anxiety inventory on two separate occasions, some 4 weeks apart. The results showed that the BIS was reliable in terms of internal consistency and test-retest stability. Further, the scale was predominantly correlated with general levels of anxiety symptoms and not with other psychopathological symptoms. Finally, the BIS was related to other personality factors in a theoretically meaningful way, and essentially seems to reflect a combination of high neuroticism/behavioral inhibition and low extraversion/behavioral approach.

Attention control in middle childhood: Relations to psychopathological symptoms and threat perception distortions

The present study examined the construct of attention control, which is an important aspect of effortful control, in a sample of non-clinical children aged between 9 and 13 years. Results demonstrated that attention control was associated with a broad range of psychopathological complaints, including symptoms of anxiety, aggression, depression, and ADHD. As predicted, lower levels of attention control were accompanied by higher levels of these symptoms. Further, attention control was also negatively related to threat perception distortions, which indicates that children who display low levels of this regulative temperament factor are more prone to such cognitive biases. Third, when controlling for neuroticism, attention control remained significantly (negatively) associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression (child report only), and ADHD. The correlations between attention control and threat perception distortions largely disappeared when the influence of neuroticism was partialled out. Only the link between attention control and anxious interpretations of ambiguous vignettes survived this correction. Finally, no evidence was found for the hypothesised mediating role of cognitive distortions on the relation between temperament factors and psychopathological symptoms.

Maternal behavior and maternal stress are associated with infant behavioral development in macaques

The simultaneous effects of naturally occurring individual differences in maternal care and maternal peripartum stress on infant development have been sparsely reported in nonhuman primates. In this work, we used a comparative approach to assess how changes in peripartum maternal excreted cortisol levels and the quality of mother-infant interactions correlate with infant behavioral development in group-living rhesus and Japanese macaques. We tested the hypothesis that peripartum maternal stress was associated with infant behavioral characteristics during development. Due to the difference in mothering style between the two species, we provided separated analyses for two groups. A sample of mother-infant pairs (Japanese macaques, N = 14; rhesus macaques, N = 10) was observed during the first 3 months of the infant's life. Follow-up observations (at 5, 7, and 9 months of age) were collected for the infants. Maternal cortisol levels were measured during the peripartum period. We found preliminary evidence that maternal peripartum stress and differences in key components of maternal behavior are associated with infant behavior throughout the developmental phase. We also provided a working hypothesis regarding maternal behavior and maternal stress as factors playing unique roles in different components of infant behavioral development.

Psychometric properties of the defense style questionnaire (DSQ-40) in adolescents

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) in adolescents. Internal consistency, factor structure, and discriminant and concurrent validity of the DSQ-40 were studied in 211 adolescent psychiatric outpatients aged 13 to 19 years and 199 age-matched and sex-matched controls. Principal components analysis yielded four internally consistent components: mature, neurotic, image-distorting, and immature defense styles. The outpatients reported more immature, image-distorting, and neurotic styles and less mature style than did the controls, suggesting adequate discriminant validity. As a demonstration of convergent and concurrent validity, the severity of psychiatric symptoms assessed by the General Health Questionnaire and psychosocial adjustment assessed by the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale correlated theoretically meaningfully with the different defense styles. The DSQ-40 appears to be a reliable and valid instrument for adolescents.

The Role of Temperament in the Etiology of Child Psychopathology

A substantial proportion of children and adolescents come to suffer from psychological disorders. This article focuses on the temperament factors that are involved in the pathogenesis of child psychopathology. It is argued that besides the reactive temperament factor of emotionality/neuroticism, the regulative process of effortful control also plays an important role in the etiology and maintenance of internalizing and externalizing problems in youths. More specifically, vulnerability to child psychopathology is determined by a temperament that is characterized by high levels of emotionality/neuroticism and low levels of effortful control. Models are hypothesized in which reactive and regulative temperament factors either have interactive or additive effects on the development of psychological disorders in children, and conceptualized in terms of a developmental psychopathology perspective. Directions for future research and clinical implications of this temperamental view on psychopathology are discussed.