Effects of childhood adversities on alexithymia features vary between sexes. Results of a prospective population study.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associate with various mental disorders, including personality features. Our understanding of how ACEs influence alexithymia features in the general population is limited. In a prospective population setting, we studied whether ACEs associate with alexithymia, and the role of sex and emotional symptoms in this association.

Early maladaptive schemas in Finnish adult chronic male and female pain patients.

Background and aims of the study The connection between chronic pain and traumatic experiences in childhood has been established in several studies. The association of emotional maltreatment with chronic pain has been studied, but to a lesser degree. Schema therapy [24] is an extension of cognitive therapy and presents the early maladaptive schema (EMS) concept.

Alexithymia and depression in the recovery of chronic pain patients: a follow-up study.

Background: Childhood adversities and emotional dysregulation are connected with chronic pain, alexithymia, and depression. Longitudinal studies exploring the impact of their co-occurrence on the pain situation are rare.

Aims: The influence of alexithymia, depression, baseline pain situation, and treatment options on the course of chronic pain in a clinical sample was studied.

The role of alexithymia: An 8-year follow-up study of chronic pain patients.

Objective: The aim of this 8-year follow-up study was to ascertain changes in alexithymia, depressiveness and pain situation in a sample of chronic pain patients and to explore the impact of alexithymia and depression on the outcome.

Methods: Participants (n=83) were chronic non-malignant pain patients who completed self-report study questionnaires before their first visit to the pain clinic and again 8years later. Study variables consisted of pain intensity measured by the Visual Analogous Scale, the Pain Disability Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory.

The use of psychoactive prescription drugs among DUI suspects.

Background: The study seeks to increase understanding of the use of psychoactive prescription drugs among persons suspected of driving under the influence (DUI). We studied whether the use of prescribed psychoactive medication was associated with DUI, and examined the difference in the use of prescription drugs between DUI recidivists and those arrested only once.

Methods: In this register-based study, persons suspected of DUI (n=29470) were drawn from the Register of DUI suspects, and an age- and gender-matched reference population (n=30043) was drawn from the Finnish general population.

Alexithymia and Early Maladaptive Schemas in chronic pain patients.

Psychological factors have an impact on subjective pain experience. The aim of this study was to explore the occurrence of alexithymia and Early Maladaptive Schemas in a sample of 271 first visit chronic pain patients of six pain clinics. The patients completed the study questionnaire consisting of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, the Finnish version of the Young Schema Questionnaire short form-extended, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and pain variables.

Identification of alcohol abuse and transition from long-term unemployment to disability pension.

Aims: The aim of the study was to reveal potential gaps and inconsistencies in the identification of alcohol abuse in health care and in employment services and to analyse the granting of disability pensions with respect to the alcohol abuse identification pattern.

Methods: The material consisted of documentary information on 505 long-term unemployed subjects with low employability sent to the development project entitled 'Eligibility for a Disability Pension' in 2001-2006 in Finland. The dichotomous variables 'Alcohol abuse identified in employment services' and 'Alcohol abuse identified in health care' were cross-tabulated to obtain a four-class variable 'Alcohol abuse identification pattern'.

Enhancing sense of coherence via early intervention among depressed occupational health care clients.

Background: Research on interventions improving psychological adjustment has suggested that sense of coherence (SOC) could be improved.

Aims: In the present study, we measured the impact of an intervention on the SOC among adults with first-episode depression. We also examined whether rehabilitation, depression, occupational stressors, life situation stressors and socio-demographic characteristics are associated with a change in the SOC.

Cutting a long story short? The clinical relevance of asking parents, nurses, and young children themselves to identify children's mental health problems by one or two questions.

Background And Aims: Assessing young children's mental health is a crucial and challenging task. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of asking parents, nurses, and young children themselves to identify children's mental health problems by only one or two questions.

Methods: In regular health check-ups of 4- to 9-year-old children (n = 2682), parents and public health nurses assessed by one question whether the child had any emotional or behavioral difficulties.

Feasibility of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in assessing children's mental health in primary care: Finnish parents', teachers' and public health nurses' experiences with the SDQ.

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

Method: Following the administration of the SDQ in medical check-ups of 4-9 year-old children (n = 2 682) the involved parents, teachers and public health nurses were asked to complete a feedback questionnaire of the SDQ.

Results: Parents took a maximum of 10-15 minutes to complete the SDQ, and only the public health nurses reported that its use was rather burdensome.

Psychiatric comorbidity among substance misusing mothers.

Background: Approximately half of patients suffering from a significant drug or alcohol related disorder also match the criteria of some other psychiatric disorder. Yet, little is known about comorbidity among substance misusing pregnant women.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of psychiatric diseases among mothers with substance misuse severe enough to end up in an assessment at a specialized addiction clinic and to compare their backgrounds to the controls.

The Impact of an Early Eclectic Rehabilitative Intervention on Symptoms in First Episode Depression among Employed People.

Objective. To evaluate the effect of an early vocational-orientated eclectic intervention on beck depression inventory (BDI) scores compared to treatment as usual in first ever depressive episode among employed people. Design.

Finnish norms for young children on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

Background: Early recognition of children's mental health problems is crucial. Although the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a commonly used screening method, further research is needed on its validity and norms for young children.

Aims: The aims of the study were to confirm the adjusted lower (normal/borderline) and upper (borderline/abnormal) cut-offs for the SDQ in a Finnish community sample of 4-9-year-old children, and to explore the SDQ's ability to identify the children with mental health problems.

Psychopathic traits in a representative sample of Finnish male prisoners.

Background: The psychopathic traits measured with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in a representative national prisoner sample have not been studied in Finland before. It has been unclear whether there could occur some national differences or whether the PCL-R can be used for assessing psychopathic traits in the Finnish forensic settings.

Aims: Our aim was to study the distribution of psychopathic traits in the Finnish male prisoners as well as the correlations of these traits with DSM-IV disorders and to compare the sample with similar samples of Europe and America.

Finnish female prisoners - heavy consumers of health services.

Aims: Previous prison studies show that female prisoners often have more health problems than male prisoners do and that they have many chronic health conditions. Few studies have been made among offenders concerning the use of health services, and even fewer concerning physical diseases. We studied the self-reported lifetime somatic diseases, the use of health services and the current use of prescription medicines among Finnish female prisoners and compared them with males.

Alexithymia and depression in a chronic pain patient sample.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of alexithymia in a sample of general chronic pain patients, to explore possible differences in depression and pain variables between alexithymic and nonalexithymic chronic pain patients and to analyze if depression is a mediator between alexithymia and pain disability.

Methods: Two hundred and seventy-one patients making their first visit to a pain clinic completed the study questionnaire including various pain measures, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The sample was dichotomized to alexithymic and nonalexithymic groups.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is common among occupational health care clients with depression.

Objective: To study how common personality disorders (PDs) are among employed subjects with first-episode depression. Depression is the single most common cause of working disability in Finland. Personality disorders are associated with depression.

Mental disorders associated with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs: a register-based study.

Background/aims: Mental disorders are associated with driving under the influence (DUI), but the evidence is scarce and mostly focused on a limited group of repeat drunken drivers. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine which mental disorders were risk factors for DUI of alcohol only (DUIA), of illicit drugs (DUID) or of alcohol and psychoactive prescription drugs (DUIAP), and whether and how the risk differs over time.

Methods: A register-based case-control study was conducted.

Predicting depression with psychopathology and temperament traits: the northern Finland 1966 birth cohort.

We studied the concurrent, predictive, and discriminate validity of psychopathology scales (e.g., schizotypal and depressive) and temperament traits for hospitalisations due to major depression.

Weapons used in serious violence against a parent: retrospective comparative register study.

Aims: Our aim was to compare the weapons used in lethal or potentially lethal violence against parents according to the age (adolescent vs. adult) of the offender and victim (mother vs. father) of the offence.

Association of depressiveness with chronic facial pain: a longitudinal study.

Objective: Depression and pain are often co-morbid. Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) include facial pain as one main symptom. Reports are lacking on the association between chronic facial pain and earlier depressiveness.

Early environment and neurobehavioral development predict adult temperament clusters.

Background: Investigation of the environmental influences on human behavioral phenotypes is important for our understanding of the causation of psychiatric disorders. However, there are complexities associated with the assessment of environmental influences on behavior.

Methods/principal Findings: We conducted a series of analyses using a prospective, longitudinal study of a nationally representative birth cohort from Finland (the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort).