Alexithymic But Not Autistic Traits Impair Prosocial Behavior.

Social impairments are a core feature of autism-spectrum disorders. However, there is a considerable variability in these impairments. Most autistic individuals show large impairments in social functioning but some autistic individuals show small impairments in social functioning.

Effect of a 1-year short message service in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients: a multi-center, open-label randomized controlled trial.

Background And Aims: Existing evidence suggests that text message interventions can help people to reduce their alcohol consumption. However, studies with alcohol-dependent patients are lacking. In this study a 1-year automatic mobile phone-based short messaging service (SMS) intervention on alcohol consumption in patients after alcohol detoxification in hospital was compared with treatment as usual.

[Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and trauma sequel disorders in adolescence].

This text examines post-traumatic stress disorders and trauma sequel disorders in adolescence, focusing in particular on the problem of transition. On the one hand, on the diagnostic level traumatizations are often not PTSD-specific, but rather self-help and self-medication measures as well as alcohol and drug addiction and dissociality, which are often not sufficiently questioned in the adult psychiatric system. On the other hand, it is about the further development and implementation of trauma pedagogical approaches, especially for young people who grow up in critical high-risk constellations or who are already in institutions of youth welfare or integration assistance.

The role of attachment characteristics in dialectical behavior therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder.

Attachment characteristics play a key role in understanding borderline-specific problems with respect to childhood maltreatment. The aim of this study was to investigate how attachment representations may influence the trajectory of change in a 1-year outpatient dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) for patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Attachment representations were assessed in 26 BPD patients and 26 healthy controls (HC) using the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP) before treatment.

Improving Medication Adherence With Telemedicine for Adults With Severe Mental Illness.

Objective: The study evaluated a telephone call and text message intervention to improve adherence to medication among patients with severe mental illness.

Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted, and outpatients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder were assigned to the intervention group or to a usual care control group. The intervention was provided by trained nurses.

The relation of alexithymia, chronic perceived stress and declarative memory performance: Results from the general population.

Previous evidence showed associations of alexithymia with altered declarative memory performance. However, these findings were not fully consistent and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Alexithymic subjects may be at specific risk for chronic psychosocial stress, which in turn represents a predictor for poorer memory performance.

Associations of trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder with the activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system in the general population.

Background: Previous studies suggested that exposure to traumatic events during childhood and adulthood and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with a dysregulation of different neuroendocrine systems. However, the activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system (RAAS) in relation to trauma/PTSD has been largely neglected.

Methods: Traumatization, PTSD, and plasma concentrations of renin and aldosterone were measured in 3092 individuals from the general population.

Predictors of medication adherence among patients with severe psychiatric disorders: findings from the baseline assessment of a randomized controlled trial (Tecla).

Background: Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are characterized by a high disease burden. Antipsychotic medication is an essential part of the treatment. However, non-adherence is a major problem.

Assessment of subjective emotional valence and long-lasting impact of life events: development and psychometrics of the Stralsund Life Event List (SEL).

Background: Life events (LEs) are associated with future physical and mental health. They are crucial for understanding the pathways to mental disorders as well as the interactions with biological parameters. However, deeper insight is needed into the complex interplay between the type of LE, its subjective evaluation and accompanying factors such as social support.

Inter-individual Differences in Heart Rate Variability Are Associated with Inter-individual Differences in Empathy and Alexithymia.

In the present study, we investigated whether inter-individual differences in vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) would be associated with inter-individual differences in empathy and alexithymia. To this end, we determined resting state HF-HRV in 90 individuals that also completed questionnaires assessing inter-individual differences in empathy and alexithymia. Our categorical and dimensional analyses revealed that inter-individual differences in HF-HRV were differently associated with inter-individual differences in empathy and alexithymia.

[Young Academics in Neuropsychological Disciplines: Factors Affecting Career Aspiration in Psychiatry, Neurology and Psychosomatic Medicine].

Objective: Students with specialization preferences in psychiatry, neurology, or psychosomatic medicine were retrospectively compared with regard to aspects of motivation to choose medicine as their field of study.

Methods: To identify early predictors of specialization preferences, a nationwide online survey was conducted with 9079 medical students. The statements of those with a preference for neurology, psychiatry, or psychosomatic medicine were evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Efficacy and Feasibility of a Therapist-Guided Internet-Based Intervention for Older Persons with Childhood Traumatization: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Although cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exist, only a small proportion of older adults seeks psychological treatment. Alternative treatment approaches are thus needed to fill the gap between provision and use of psychological interventions. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of an Internet-based, therapist-guided cognitive-behavioral therapy (Internet-based CBT) for older individuals with PTSD symptoms.

From Childhood Trauma to Adult Dissociation: The Role of PTSD and Alexithymia.

Background: The mechanism of how childhood trauma leads to increased risk for adult dissociation is not sufficiently understood. We sought to investigate the predicting effects and the putatively mediating roles of PTSD and alexithymia on the path from childhood trauma to adult dissociation.

Methods: A total of 666 day-clinic outpatients were administered the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS), and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and controlled for sex, age, and the Global Symptom Index (GSI).

[Influence and Change of Self-Directedness in Dialectical Behavior Therapy].

Investigate influence and change of self-directedness (SD) in Dialectical-Behavior Therapy (DBT) for 26 female outpatients with borderline personality disorder (BPS). Variance analyses are used to evaluate psychopathology and interpersonal problems in 2 subgroups (low vs. high SD) with questionnaires at 3 measuring times over the period of 1 year.

Sex- and age-specific associations between major depressive disorder and metabolic syndrome in two general population samples in Germany.

Background And Aims: Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been associated with the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). As previous data strongly suggested sex and age effects on this association, this study aimed to analyse the association between MDD and MetS in two general population samples under explicit consideration of sex and age.

Methods: This study analysed cross-sectional data based on two independent general population samples: SHIP-0 (n = 4083; 20-81 years; 49.

Effect of the interaction between childhood abuse and rs1360780 of the FKBP5 gene on gray matter volume in a general population sample.

Objective: The FKBP5 gene codes for a co-chaperone that regulates glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity and thereby impacts the reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis. Evidence suggested that subjects exposed to childhood abuse and carrying the TT genotype of the FKBP5 gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1360780 have an increased susceptibility to stress-related disorders.

Method: The hypothesis that abused TT genotype carriers show changes in gray matter (GM) volumes in affect-processing brain areas was investigated.

Tecla: a telephone- and text-message based telemedical concept for patients with severe mental health disorders--study protocol for a controlled, randomized, study.

Background: Severe mental disorders like psychotic disorders including schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders have a 12-month-prevalence of 2.6, bipolar disorders of 1.5% in Germany.

Alexithymia and self-directedness as predictors of psychopathology and psychotherapeutic treatment outcome.

Objective: Alexithymia, a common personality style of patients seeking psychotherapeutic help, is associated with illness severity and negative treatment outcome in various mental disorders. Still, it remains unclear how alexithymia influences psychopathology and the therapeutic processes. In previous studies, a strong association of alexithymia with self-directedness (SD), a dimension of Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) has been shown.