Theory of mind abilities during the course of bipolar disorder: A longitudinal study using mixed models.

Theory of mind (ToM) deficits, difficulties in recognizing the intentions, propensities, and beliefs of others have been shown in individuals with bipolar disorder in several studies; however, it is not yet elucidated how ToM abilities changes over the course of bipolar disorder and is related to illness symptoms. This is one of the first longitudinal studies to compare the ToM abilities of euthymic bipolar individuals and healthy controls over a four and a half years period. ToM abilities were measured using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET).

The Affective Neuroscience of Sexuality: Development of a LUST Scale.

Background: In recent years, there have been many studies using the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) to investigate individual differences in primary emotion traits. However, in contrast to other primary emotion traits proposed by Jaak Panksepp and colleagues, there is a considerable lack of research on the LUST (L) dimension - defined as an individual's capacity to attain sexual desire and satisfaction - a circumstance mainly caused by its exclusion from the ANPS. Therefore, this study aims to take a first step toward the development of a standardized self-rate measurement for the L-disposition.

The Development of a Multidimensional Inventory for the Assessment of Mental Pain (FESSTE 30).

Although the term "mental pain" is often the subject of expert opinions regarding claims for damages, there is still no standardized questionnaire in the German-speaking area to operationalize this concept. Therefore, the aim of this work is the development and validation of a self-assessment measurement for psychological pain after traumatic events (FESSTE). = = .

"Test Your Spirituality in One Minute or Less" Structural Validity of the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being Short Version (MI-RSWB 12).

The Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being (MI-RSWB 48) was developed in order to address a religious/spiritual dimension as being an important part of psychological well-being. In the meantime, the instrument has been successfully applied in numerous studies. Subsequently, a short version, the MI-RSWB 12 was constructed, especially for the use in clinical assessment.

The Influence of an Attachment-Related Stimulus on Oxytocin Reactivity in Poly-Drug Users Undergoing Maintenance Therapy Compared to Healthy Controls.

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) have been described as a dysfunctional way to compensate for deficiencies in that person's underlying attachment system. Furthermore, the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT), which is a critical component of the neurobiology of the attachment system, has been shown to effectively reduce addictive behavior and therefore has been discussed as a potential medication in SUD treatment. This study investigates variation in peripheral OT plasma levels as a function of exposure to an attachment-related stimulus in SUD patients compared to healthy controls (HCs).

The Therapeutic Community: A Unique Social Psychological Approach to the Treatment of Addictions and Related Disorders.

The evolution of the contemporary Therapeutic Community (TC) for addictions over the past 50 years may be characterized as a movement from the marginal to the mainstream of substance abuse treatment and human services. TCs currently serve a wide array of clients and their diverse problems; through advances in research in treatment outcomes, the composition of staff has been reshaped, the duration of residential treatment has been reduced, the treatment goals have been reset and, to a considerable extent, the approach of therapy itself has been modified. An overview of the TC as a distinct social-psychological method for treating addiction and related disorders is provided by this paper.

The supervisory relationship from an attachment perspective: Connections to burnout and sense of coherence in health professionals.

Supervision is an essential part of the training and work environment of health professionals, especially of psychotherapists and clinical/health psychologists. However, although the supervisory process is always a relational one and may therefore be influenced by attachment dynamics, the importance of the supervisory relationship for the professional's performance and the well-being of the supervisee has yet to be fully examined. In this cross-sectional observational study, the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-RD; avoidant and anxious attachment), the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13) were analysed for 346 (81.

Childhood Trauma, Personality, and Substance Use Disorder: The Development of a Neuropsychoanalytic Addiction Model.

Background: While traditional psychoanalysis has been criticized as insufficient for the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD), recent progress in the field of neuropsychoanalysis has generated new and promising hypotheses regarding its etiology. However, empirical research applying this framework has been sparse.

Aim And Scope: The present overview aims at developing and empirically validating a neuroscientifically informed psychodynamic framework regarding the etiology of SUD.

The relationship between existential well-being and mood-related psychiatric burden in Indian young adults with attachment deficits: a cross-cultural validation study.

Background: Attachment and spirituality are thought to have deep evolutionary roots but are always interpreted within the framework of culture, religion and personal beliefs. While insecure attachment has been observed to be positively related with psychopathology, a positive mental health effect has often been described for spirituality. To examine the cross-cultural validation of previous research focused on Austrian young adults with Western socialization, we attempt to replicate our study examining the influence spirituality has on the connection between insecure attachment and mood-related psychiatric burden with Indian young adults.

Psychobiology of Attachment and Trauma-Some General Remarks From a Clinical Perspective.

Attachment refers to a psychobiological principle that is deeply rooted in evolutionary development; it is thought to contribute a major advantage in the survival of the social group. Within individual development it indicates a primary motivational system that guides the initial transactions between mother and baby and furthermore mediates affective attunement and regulation. Psychosocial learning, in close interaction with genetics and epigenetics, also develops a decisive foundation for further brain development of the infant.

Brain Structure Alterations in Poly-Drug Use: Reduced Cortical Thickness and White Matter Impairments in Regions Associated With Affective, Cognitive, and Motor Functions.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are defined by obsessive and uncontrolled consumption, which is related to neurobiological changes. Based on previous work, this study investigated potential alterations in brain structure in poly-drug use disordered (PUD) patients in comparison to controls from the normal population. This study involved a sample of 153 right-handed men aged between 18 and 41 years, comprising a clinical group of 78 PUD and a group of 75 healthy controls.

The Influence of Attachment Styles and Personality Organization on Emotional Functioning After Childhood Trauma.

Current literature suggests a tenuous link among childhood trauma, personality organization, adult attachment, and emotional functioning in various psychiatric disorders. However, empirical research focusing on the interaction of these concepts is sparse. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the influence of personality organization and attachment dimensions on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and emotional functioning in adult life.

Do Primary Emotions Predict Psychopathological Symptoms? A Multigroup Path Analysis.

Research involving animal models has repeatedly proposed dysregulations in subcortically rooted affective systems as a crucial etiological factor in the development of a variety of psychiatric disorders. However, empirical studies with human participants testing these hypotheses have been sparse. Associations between primary emotions systems and different psychiatric symptoms were investigated in order to gain insights into the influence of evolutionary-rooted primary emotions on psychopathology.

Sense of coherence is linked to post-traumatic growth after critical incidents in Austrian ambulance personnel.

Background: Ambulance personnel, as well as other emergency services like fire-fighters or the police force, are regularly confronted with experiences of extreme psychological distress and potentially traumatizing events in the line of their daily duties. As a consequence, this occupational group is exposed to an elevated risk of developing symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSS). Subsequently, symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress have been observed as potentially co-occurring with Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) in ambulance personnel as well.

Depressive Symptoms and Addictive Behaviors in Young Adults After Childhood Trauma: The Mediating Role of Personality Organization and Despair.

There is substantial evidence that traumatic experiences in childhood increase the likelihood of mood pathology and addictive behaviors in adolescence and young adulthood. Furthermore, both forms of psychopathology have been linked to deficiencies in personality organization and a common primary emotion core. In this study, we intended to further investigate these interactions by assuming a mediating role of personality organization and despair regarding the relationship between childhood trauma and psychiatric symptom burden later in life.

Personality Influences the Relationship Between Primary Emotions and Religious/Spiritual Well-Being.

The study of human emotions and personality provides valuable insights into the parameters of mental health and well-being. Affective neuroscience proposes that several levels of emotions - ranging from primary ones such as LUST or FEAR up to higher emotions such as spirituality - interact on a neural level. The present study aimed to further explore this theory.

Short-term Beneficial Effects of 12 Sessions of Neurofeedback on Avoidant Personality Accentuation in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder.

This study evaluated the effects of alpha/theta neurofeedback on Clinical Personality Accentuations in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Twenty-five males were investigated using a pre-test/post-test design with a waiting-list control group. Participants were randomly assigned either to an experimental group ( = 13) receiving 12 sessions of neurofeedback twice a week as a treatment adjunct over a period of 6 weeks, or to a control group ( = 12) receiving treatment as usual.

[The role of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in substance use disorders: A systematic review].

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic method that has been shown to be especially effective in traumatic disorders. Since the concept of an addiction memory has become widely accepted, the use of EMDR also in substance use disorders (SUD) treatment might count as a separate field. This review summarizes the current state of research on treatment effects EMDR in SUD.

Facets of Spirituality Diminish the Positive Relationship between Insecure Attachment and Mood Pathology in Young Adults.

Traditionally, in attachment theory, secure attachment has been linked to parameters of mental health, while insecure attachment has been associated with parameters of psychopathology. Furthermore, spirituality and attachment to God have been discussed as corresponding to, or compensating for, primary attachment experiences. Accordingly, they may contribute to mental health or to mental illness.

[Problematic internet use (PIN)--a review of assessment questionnaires and risk factors].

Internet is nowadays an integral part of our lives. However, excessive internet use, which is in many ways comparable to substance addictions and behavioral addictions, has become of growing interest in popular media, health policy and scientific research. Nevertheless, there is still considerable controversy with respect to diagnostic criteria and assessment questionnaires, and the diagnosis does not yet appear in any official diagnostic system such as the DSM-5 or ICD-10.

[Biological basis of problematic internet use (PIN) and therapeutic implications].

The repetitive excessive use of internet has led to an increasing number of reports about the negative consequences of overuse and is now viewed as an important public health issue, although the diagnosis of internet addiction remains problematic. Increasing knowledge about the neurobiological mechanism of behavioral addictions will promote future research and is essential for the development of specific and effective treatment. Growing evidence suggests that the neurobiological substrates and pathways of internet addiction resemble those of substance dependency and other forms of behavioral addictions.

The Effectiveness of Visual Short-Time Neurofeedback on Brain Activity and Clinical Characteristics in Alcohol Use Disorders: Practical Issues and Results.

The present study was carried out to examine the efficacy of alpha/theta neurofeedback (NF) with a new visual paradigm in a cohort of alcohol use disordered (AUD) patients (n = 25) treated in an Austrian therapeutic community center. The experimental study design focused on changes in absolute and relative resting EEG band power as well as in clinical variables, including depression (Beck Depresion Inventory [BDI-V]), psychiatric symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory [BSI], coping (Freiburg Questionnaire on Coping with Illness [FKV-lis]), psychotherapy motivation (Therapy Motivation Questionnaire [FPTM-23]), sense of coherence (Sense of Coherence Scale [SOC-13]), posttraumatic growth (Posttraumatic Growth Inventory [PPR]), and alcohol cravings (Alcohol Craving Questionnaire [ACQ]). For measuring training effects, participants were randomly allocated to 2 groups: an experimental group (EG, n = 13) and a control group (CG, n = 12).

[The relationship between Yoga Immersion, psychological well-being and psychiatric symptoms].

Background: In recent years positive effects of Yoga (as a kind of spiritual exercise) in regards to subjective well-being and physical health can be found as well documented in the literature.

Method: Based on a construct-psychological approach a newly developed scale for the assessment of Yoga involvement (immersion) was validated on a sample of 233 non-clinical subjects (210 females) by means of socio-demographic and well established psychometric parameters of psychological well-being and psychiatric symptoms. Furthermore, the group of yoga practitioners was compared with a control group consisting of 93 gymnastics practitioners (83 women) with respect to these parameters.