The estimated prevalence and correlates of adult ADHD in a German community sample.

Little research on the prevalence and correlates of adult ADHD has been conducted outside the United States. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of adult ADHD in a large representative sample of the German population aged 18-64 years (n = 1,655). Two self-rating screening instruments to assess childhood and adult ADHD symptomatology were used to estimate the prevalence of ADHD.

Assessing general side effects in clinical trials: reference data from the general population.

Purpose: Side effects in clinical trials are frequently assessed in an unstructured fashion, using ascertainment strategies with unclear quality criteria. To improve the assessment and interpretation of general side effects, a structured approach is presented and validated (General Assessment of Side Effects, GASE). Base rates and reference data of the general population as well as quality criteria of this new side effect ascertainment method are provided.

Subjective underchallenge at work and its impact on mental health.

Purpose: To investigate the relation between subjective underchallenge at work and the degree of depressiveness and life satisfaction.

Methods: A representative sample of the German general population of N = 1,178 (52.5% men; age: M = 40.

Prevalence of complicated grief in a representative population-based sample.

Background: Complicated grief (CG) has been proposed as a distinct diagnostic category in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). However, few epidemiological studies to date have measured CG in the general population.

Methods: Prevalence of CG, sociodemographic characteristics, and grief-related factors were examined in a representative population-based survey (N = 2520) through face-to-face contact.

Regular and problematic leisure-time Internet use in the community: results from a German population-based survey.

In our study, we attempted to identify systematically the use of Internet applications in the German population in order to derive risk factors for problematic use. In a representative survey of the German population, we queried 1,401 women and 1,111 men between the ages of 14 and 94 years by specific questions and standardized questionnaires on depression, anxiety (HADS), and depersonalization (CDS-2). The majority of the German population (55%) used the Internet in their leisure time.

Health care utilization among first and second generation immigrants and native-born Germans: a population-based study in Germany.

Objectives: There are contradictory findings on health care utilization (HCU) of immigrants compared to native-born populations. Our study focuses on this topic using a population-based approach and differentiates generational cohorts of immigrants.

Methods: In a representative population survey in Germany (N = 2,510), immigrant background/generational cohort and HCU in the preceding 12 months were screened by means of self-rating instruments.

[Quantity versus quality: a review on current methodological dispute in health services research].

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the percentage of qualitative and quantitative research papers on health services research in two German journals.

Methods: All publications of the two journals were viewed. Only empirical research papers were included.

Validation of the Rasch-based Depression Screening in a large scale German general population sample.

Background: The study aimed at presenting normative data for both parallel forms of the "Rasch-based Depression Screening (DESC)", to examine its Rasch model conformity and convergent and divergent validity based on a representative sample of the German general population.

Methods: The sample was selected with the assistance of a demographic consulting company applying a face to face interview (N = 2509; mean age = 49.4, SD = 18.

Pessimism predicts anxiety, depression and quality of life in female cancer patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of optimism/pessimism for anxiety, depression and health-related quality of life in female cancer patients, quantified with and without controlling the corresponding base level.

Methods: A total of 97 women with breast cancer and other gynaecological cancer completed the Life Orientation Test, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Health Survey SF-8 at three time points: during their stay in the hospital (T1), 2 weeks later (T2) and 3 months later (T3).

Results: The degree of self-assessed pessimism at T1 was significantly associated with anxiety, depression and health-related quality of life at T3.

The construct validity of social inhibition and the type-D taxonomy.

In contrast to the prognostic validity of the type-D personality, there is still little knowledge on the construct validity. In a sample of 102 healthy young adults the construct validity was analysed against the Big-Five dimensions, four of the 16 PF factors, and repressive emotion regulation. Social inhibition was associated with Apprehensiveness, and low scores in social competencies and self-deception.

[Future psychotherapists? Vocational plans and motivation for choosing psychotherapy as a career in german psychology students].

Background: in Germany psychology students can be seen as the major personal resource in psychotherapy. Nevertheless there are few studies on their vocational plans and their interest in psychotherapeutic training.

Method: 480 psychology students completed a self-developed questionnaire on their career expectations.

Base rates for depersonalization according to the 2-item version of the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS-2) and its associations with depression/anxiety in the general population.

Background: Recently, the two item version of the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS-2) has been validated in a clinical sample and has demonstrated that it is a useful tool for the detection of clinically significant depersonalization (DP). In order to provide a framework for the interpretation of the CDS-2 scores the aim of this study was to achieve normative data of a representative sample of the German population and to evaluate the associations with depression, anxiety and sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods: A nationally representative face-to-face household survey was conducted during the mid of 2009 in Germany.

Estimated prevalence of compulsive buying in Germany and its association with sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms.

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of compulsive buying and its association with sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of the German population using the validated German version of the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS; Faber and O'Guinn, 1992) in order to have a direct comparison with U.S. findings.

[Validation of the German version of the Regional Pain Scale for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome].

Objective: Use of the American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for the clinical diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is under debate. The Regional Pain Scale (RPS) had been developed for the diagnosis of FMS in clinical practice and in survey settings (survey criteria of FMS). So far a German version has not been validated.

Updates on the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder: a population-based survey.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterised by a preoccupation with perceived defects in one's appearance, which leads to significant distress and/or impairment. Although several studies have investigated the prevalence of BDD, many studies have methodological limitations (e.g.

Are psychological features useful in classifying patients with somatic symptoms?

Objective: To evaluate psychological characteristics that could be used for the classification of somatic syndromes requesting medical care. Positive psychological classification criteria are needed to justify the classification of somatic syndromes as Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- or International Classification of Diseases-10 section F/mental disorders diagnosis.

Methods: From a population-based sample of 2510 people, subsamples reporting high scores for somatic symptoms (SOM+; n = 154) versus average scores for somatic symptoms (SOM-; n = 167) were defined.

Traumatic experiences and post-traumatic stress disorder among elderly Germans: results of a representative population-based survey.

Background: Only a few population-based studies on the epidemiology of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSDs) are available to date. Most of the existing studies are from the U.S.

[The prevalence of depressive symptomatology in the german elderly population and the impact of methodical aspects on the identified prevalence].

Objectives: The issue of whether depression increases or decreases with age remains unclear. Methodical aspects play an important role in the research on depression in the elderly.

Methods: In a representative survey of the German general population aged 50 years and older (n = 1.

A cluster within the continuum of biopsychosocial distress can be labeled "fibromyalgia syndrome"--evidence from a representative German population survey.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that "fibromyalgia syndrome" is a biopsychosocial continuum disorder.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of the German general population with persons >or= 14 years of age was conducted based on face-to-face contacts. Physical distress was measured by the regional pain scale (RPS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ-15), psychological distress by the PHQ-9, and social distress by the Oslo Social Support Scale.

Life satisfaction, anxiety, depression and resilience across the life span of men.

Objective: To determine (a) the relationship between life satisfaction, anxiety, depression and ageing in the male community and (b) to identify the impact of vulnerability factors, personal and social resources on life satisfaction and distress.

Design: A stratified random sample of the German male population (N = 2144) was investigated by standardized questionnaires of life satisfaction (FLZ(M)), depression, anxiety (PHQ), resilience (RS-11) and self-esteem (RSS).

Results: No age-related change was found regarding overall life satisfaction.

[Prevalence and predictors of pain in several body regions. Results of a representative German population survey].

Background: There are no data available from representative samples of the general German population on predictors of widespread pain (WP) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of the German general population with persons over 14 years old was conducted based on face-to-face contact using standardised questionnaires. The number of pain sites and the presence of WP and FMS were assessed by the regional pain scale (RPS), somatic symptom intensity was measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15), depressed mood by PHQ 9 and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) by the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12).

[Does the recent psychosocial research consider the perspective of developmental psychopathology?].

Objectives: Developmental psychopathology is studying the development of psychological disorders with a life course perspective and an interdisciplinary approach considering the interplay of biological, psychological and social factors in complex models. The bibliometric analysis examines the implementation of this concept in the recent psychosocial research in the German-speaking area.

Methods: Volumes 2007 and 2008 of three German psychological journals "Zeitschrift für Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Medizinische Psychologie", "Zeitschrift für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie", and "Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie" were screened for articles dealing with issues of developmental psychopathology.

A 4-item measure of depression and anxiety: validation and standardization of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) in the general population.

Background: The 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) is an ultra-brief self-report questionnaire that consists of a 2-item depression scale (PHQ-2) and a 2-item anxiety scale (GAD-2). Given that PHQ-4, PHQ-2, and GAD-2 have not been validated in the general population, this study aimed to investigate their reliability and validity in a large general population sample and to generate normative data.

Methods: A nationally representative face-to-face household survey was conducted in Germany in 2006.

Life satisfaction, distress, and resiliency across the life span of women.

Objective: This study aimed to determine (1) the relationship between life satisfaction, mental disorders, and aging in the female community and (2) to identify the impact of vulnerability factors, personal (resilience, self-esteem), and social resources on life satisfaction and distress.

Methods: A stratified random sample of the German female population (N = 2,540) was investigated using standardized questionnaires of life satisfaction (Questions on Life Satisfaction), depression, anxiety (Patient Health Questionnaire), resilience scale (RS-11), and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale).

Results: When participants were divided into six age groups (18-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, and >70 y), we found lower life satisfaction, satisfaction with partnership, and sexuality beyond the age of 50 years.