Toxic Relationships: The Experiences and Effects of Psychopathy in Romantic Relationships

Risk Assessment of Somatic Symptom Disorder Among Patients Attending a Family Medicine Practice in an Academic Center

The prevalence of somatic symptom disorder (SSD) among primary care patients is a significant concern. Despite advancements in medical services, many patients with unexplained symptoms remain undetected in primary care settings. This underscores the urgent need to improve detection rates and identify relevant factors associated with SSD. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of SSD, and the risk factors associated with its development among adult patients in primary care practice. This cross-sectional study was conducted in September 2023 across seven clinics within the Department of Family and Community Medicine at an academic center. Using a simple sampling technique, 300 adult patients were included. Data were collected through a designed questionnaire that comprised sections on sociodemographic information, medical characteristics, and screening questions for SSD. The study revealed a 38.7% prevalence of SSD, with higher rates observed among younger individuals, females, rural and semi-urban residents, the unemployed, those in toxic relationships, individuals with low socioeconomic status, and those experiencing stress. Multivariate regression analysis identified female sex, abusive relationships, stress, and sleep problems as significant risk factors for SSD. These findings underscore the need for improved detection of SSD in primary care settings to reduce healthcare overuse and enhance patient satisfaction. Addressing SSD requires an understanding of its diverse presentations across demographic and psychosocial factors, highlighting the importance of comprehensive assessments and tailored interventions.

Prediction of the End of a Romantic Relationship in Peruvian Youth and Adults: A Machine Learning Approach

This study explores the effectiveness of machine learning models in predicting the end of romantic relationships among Peruvian youth and adults, considering various socioeconomic and personal attributes. The study implements logistic regression, gradient boosting, support vector machines, and decision trees on SMOTE-balanced data using a sample of 429 individuals to improve model robustness and accuracy. Using stratified random sampling, the data is split into training (80%) and validation (20%) sets. The models are evaluated through 10-fold cross-validation, focusing on accuracy, F1-score, AUC, sensitivity, and specificity metrics. The Random Forest model is the preferred algorithm because of its superior performance in all evaluation metrics. Hyperparameter tuning was conducted to optimize the model, identifying key predictors of relationship dissolution, including negative interactions, desire for emotional infidelity, and low relationship satisfaction. SHAP analysis was utilized to interpret the directional impact of each variable on the prediction outcomes. This study underscores the potential of machine learning tools in providing deep insights into relationship dynamics, suggesting their application in personalized therapeutic interventions to enhance relationship quality and reduce the incidence of breakups. Future research should incorporate larger and more diverse datasets to further validate these findings.

Burden of employment loss and absenteeism in adults and caregivers of children with sickle cell disease

ABSTRACT

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder affecting 100 000 people with an estimated annual medical cost of $3 billion in the United States; however, the economic impact on patients is not well described. We aimed to examine the indirect economic burden and test the hypothesis that socioeconomic status and greater social vulnerability risks are associated with increased absenteeism and employment loss. We surveyed adults and caregivers of children with SCD at 5 US centers from 2014 to 2021. Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations of employment loss and missed days of work with demographics and social determinants. Indirect costs were estimated by multiplying the self-reported missed days of work and job loss by 2022 average wages by the state of the participating institution. Of the 244 participants, 10.3% reported employment loss in the last 5 years, and 17.5% reported missing 10 or more days of work. Adults had 3 times more employment loss compared with caregivers of children with SCD (OR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.12-9.01) but fewer missed days of work (OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.11-0.0.51). Participants who did not live with a partner reported increased employment loss (OR, 4.70; 95% CI, 1.04-21.17) and more missed days of work (OR, 4.58; 95% CI, 1.04-20.15). The estimated annual indirect economic burden was $2 266 873 ($9290 per participant). Adults with SCD and caregivers of children with SCD commonly report employment loss and missed days of work as important risk factors. The high indirect economic burden suggests that future economic evaluations of SCD should include SCD-related indirect economic burden.

An assessment of appraisals of dating relationship conflicts and perceptions of appropriate coping strategies with psychologically abusive interactions

Introduction

Stemming from a stress appraisal and coping perspective, the present investigation developed a methodology for assessing how individuals appraise abusive dating relationship conflicts (Study 1) and the implications of such appraisals for informing coping responses to abusive interactions (Study 2).

Methods

Participants ranging in age from 17 to 29 years (Study 1: 102 males, 339 females; Study 2: 88 males, 362 females) completed a survey in which they were presented with a series of 10 scenarios that conveyed relationship conflict cues that were ostensibly aligned with various forms of psychological abuse.

Results

Factor analyses indicated that blatant actions conducted in privacy were differentiated from more ambiguous public forms of psychological abuse, in that the latter were appraised by both males and females as more abusive. Females were further likely to appraise blatant conflicts as more threatening but at the same time more resolvable. Participants who had encountered abuse in their own intimate relationships were especially likely to appraise conflicts as abusive, threatening and uncontrollable. Such appraisals were associated with greater endorsement of avoidant coping strategies in response to an abusive encounter, irrespective of personal relationship experiences.

Discussion

It is suggested that how individuals appraise relationship conflicts may be key to their ability to cope effectively with such encounters or to provide appropriate support to those experiencing psychologically abusive relationships.

Men's Psychopathy and Mating Effort in Intimate Relationships: Links with Jealousy and Sexual Coercion

Psychopathic men sometimes direct sexual aggression toward prospective female partners (e.g., using sexually aggressive behavior on a first date) and such behavior may be indicative of a high mating effort strategy. Less research has investigated the role of psychopathy in men's use of sexually coercive behaviors in their intimate relationships (e.g., sexual aggression directed toward one's long-term romantic partner) or the relationship processes that might facilitate such behavior. The present study surveyed 143 heterosexual dyads to assess men's psychopathic traits and their relation to self-reports and partner-reports of men's jealousy and partner sexual coercion. Results across informant models showed that men's psychopathy was associated with higher suspicious jealousy and partner sexual coercion. Suspicious jealousy also indirectly linked men's psychopathic traits with engaging in partner sexual coercion. The findings provide novel insights using dyadic data and suggest that both psychopathy and jealousy are important for men's engagement in partner sexual coercion.

All Walks of Life: Editorial for the Special Issue on "The Impact of Psychopathy: Multidisciplinary and Applied Perspectives"

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve as Guest Editors of this Special Issue on "The impact of psychopathy: Multidisciplinary and applied perspectives." Psychopathy is a serious public health concern that has long attracted scholarly and clinical interest in both mental health and criminal justice fields. However, given its robust link with criminal behavior, research on psychopathy has largely developed with a primary emphasis on (male) adults within correctional settings. While the preponderance of work remains focused on these adult offenders, research on psychopathy has expanded in recent decades to include studies within a variety of more diverse populations and contexts. The goal of this Special Issue has been to highlight some of the most recent research in these areas, toward a more deliberate emphasis on the broad impacts that psychopathy can impart across all walks of life. To this end, while only two of the papers included in the Special Issue focused on forensic samples (and more specifically on treatment and recidivism), all 10 papers have nonetheless offered a clear focus on the detrimental impacts that individuals with psychopathic traits can impart within society. Indeed, included manuscripts focused on the impact of psychopathy within romantic relationships (in both middle and older adulthood), within parent-child dyads, within the workplace, and within society at large. Across these studies, the significant, detrimental impact that individuals with heightened psychopathic traits impart is highlighted, not only for their victims, but also for their family, friends, and colleagues. In this Editorial, we would like to emphasize some main themes that emerged from their contributions.