Background: Eating disorders (EDs) are among the least studied mental disorders in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P). The primary aim (a) of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify factors predicting ED diagnoses in CHR-P individuals. The secondary aim (b) was providing a comprehensive clinical description of individuals with both CHR-P and EDs/ED-related symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Defense mechanisms play a crucial role in depression and anxiety. The current study aimed at estimating the network structure of defense mechanisms in individuals with symptoms of depression and anxiety to understand the most central defenses and relevant connections. Moreover, we aimed at examining the associations between defense mechanisms and symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis cross-sectional study aimed to identify potential predictors of poor mental health outcomes among healthcare workers in two different waves of the COVID-19 emergency in Italy. An online survey collected data from N = 557 healthcare workers (21-77 years). The study predictors were sociodemographic characteristics, occupational status, factors related to the work environment, COVID-19-related adverse events, and lifetime traumatic events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The current range of labeling terms-at-risk mental state (ARMS), ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR), and attenuated psychotic syndrome (APS)-used to refer to the psychosis-risk concept is varied, and their acceptability and potential stigma are not well understood. By involving Italian youth with lived experience of mental ill-health, we aimed to generate new labeling terms for psychosis-risk, and to evaluate literacy, attitudes, and preferences regarding these and the existing terms. Additionally, we investigated opinions of disclosure of the at-risk concept in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: To map studies assessing both clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in clinical samples, focusing on clinical/research/preventive paradigms and proposing informed research recommendations.
Methods: We conducted a PRISMA-ScR/JBI-compliant scoping review (protocol: https://osf.io/8mz7a) of primary research studies (cross-sectional/longitudinal designs) using valid measures/criteria to assess CHR-P and BPD (threshold/subthreshold) in clinical samples, reporting on CHR-P/psychotic symptoms and personality disorder(s) in the title/abstract/keywords, identified in Web of Science/PubMed/(EBSCO)PsycINFO until 23/08/2023.
To be relevant to healthcare systems, the clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P) concept should denote a specific (i.e., unique) clinical population and provide useful information to guide the choice of intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Labeling terms for high-risk state for psychosis, such as 'ultra-high risk' (UHR), 'attenuated psychosis syndrome' (APS), and 'at-risk mental state' (ARMS), have been criticized for their potential to lead to stigma. Hence, mental health service users in Melbourne recently proposed new terms illustrating the at-risk concept ['pre-diagnosis stage' (PDS), 'potential of developing a mental illness' (PDMI), and 'disposition for developing a mental illness' (DDMI)]. We aimed at testing the suitability of these existing and new terms in the clinical settings of early psychiatric intervention in Japan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMental health literacy (MHL) refers to lay people's knowledge and beliefs about the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. The current study aimed at investigating MHL regarding personality disorders (PDs) multiculturally, comparing Turkish and Italian populations. In total, 262 participants responded to an online vignette identification task that required them to label the PDs of seven hypothetical subjects and rate various dimensions of their disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The current study aimed to validate the Italian version of the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale (SACS), which assesses mental health care staff's attitudes to the use of coercion in treatment.
Methods: The original English version of the SACS was translated into Italian, according to the back-translation procedure. Subsequently, it was empirically validated by performing an exploratory factor analysis on a sample of 217 mental health professionals (Mean = 43.
Objective: Youths at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P) are characterized by a high prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders. The present study aimed at developing and analyzing a network structure of CHR-P symptom domains (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Transference (meant in this context, as the patient relational patterns expressed towards the clinician) and therapeutic alliance play a crucial role in the treatment of personality pathology. To date, no empirical study examined the association between these two dimensions of the clinical relationship and patients' personality maladaptive traits in psychotherapy.
Methods: A national sample of therapists (N = 100) of different theoretical orientations assessed dysfunctional personality features of a patient in their care using a comprehensive and empirically grounded dimensional diagnostic approach from the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 (SWAP-200).
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
February 2023
Objective: Disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) represent a common motive for referral among youths. This meta-analysis aimed at estimating the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for adolescents with DBDs.
Method: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-compliant systematic review of MEDLINE/PubMED/PsycINFO/Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was conducted.
The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent extreme restrictions imposed by governments across the world forced psychotherapists to abruptly change their working modality. The first aim of the current study was to assess psychotherapists' self-perceptions (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMentalizing capacities depends on the quality of primary attachment interactions with caregivers who thinks of the child as a subject with mental states. Operationalized as reflective functioning, mentalization is crucial for regulating emotions and developing of a coherent sense of identity, for interacting with individuals making sense to own and others mental states, and for distinguishing internal and external realities without distortions. Although the clinical literature on interplay between mentalization, attachment, and emotional regulation is rich, the empirical research is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: People suffering from mental disorders are affected by public stigma in many areas of daily life, including mental health services. Stigma among mental health professionals needs to be addressed.: This study explores the path leading to attitudes toward seclusion and restraint practices among future mental health professionals, considering the complex interplay among demographic variables, personality, stigma, and experience in psychiatric services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent meta-analytic data show that approximately 40% of individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) receive at least one personality disorder (PD) diagnosis. Personality pathology could significantly influence CHR patients' prognosis and response to treatment. We aimed at exploring the PD traits of CHR adolescents, in order to outline a prototypic description of their most frequently observed personality characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFItaly was one of the first countries to be significantly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, determining a unique scenario for Italian psychotherapists to consider changing the modality in which they deliver treatment. The present study aimed at studying which factors related to psychotherapists and their clinical practice had a major role in predicting two main outcomes: (1) the rate of interrupted treatments during lockdown and (2) psychotherapists' satisfaction with the telepsychotherapy modality. An online survey was administered to licensed psychotherapists ( = 306), who worked mainly as private practitioners, between April 5 and May 10, 2020 (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Family Accommodation (FA) refers to the involvement of family members (especially parents) in the compulsive behaviors of children and adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (e.g. modifying family routines or facilitating avoidance of obsessive-compulsive triggers).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResearch within psychotherapy and psychopathology frameworks has been inspired by the central concept of defense mechanisms, which play a pivotal role in psychoanalysis. Defense specificities have only recently been studied systematically in the context of several clinical diagnoses. The present study aimed to explore the specificities of defense mechanisms in adolescents at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis and test the relationship between defensive functioning and attenuated psychotic symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In a longitudinal design, the present study examined: (a) the nature of attachment patterns and reflective functioning (RF) in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR); (b) the association between RF and subclinical psychotic symtoms; and (c) the psychosis-predictive value of attachment patterns, RF, and the interaction between these factors.
Method: The sample comprised 57 UHR subjects and 53 clinical controls (non-UHR). UHR subjects were followed over a mean period of 14 months (SD = 2.