Israel journal of psychiatry最新文献

Background: This article examines the attachment characteristics of the offspring as a function of the survival situation of their parents (Holocaust survivors). According to Bowlby's theory (1), proximity to a significant "other" increases the capability to regulate difficult emotions. Therefore, Holocaust survivors who were accompanied by a significant "other" should be less traumatized than a lone survivor who had to be completely self-reliant during the war. Therefore, we hypothesized that the parent's survival situation (alone or accompanied by a significant other) affected the way they bonded with their children. We also assume that an association between age of parent during the Holocaust, survival situation (alone or with a significant other), and avoidance attachment orientation of offspring will be found.

Methods: One hundred and eighty adult Holocaust survivor offspring were recruited and supplied with a sociodemographic questionnaire.

Results: The research results show that offspring of mothers who survived the Holocaust alone have a greater orientation to attachment avoidance than those who survived the Holocaust accompanied by a significant other. Also, offspring of fathers who survived the Holocaust alone showed a greater orientation to attachment avoidance than those who survived the Holocaust in the company of a significant other.

Conclusions: The research results highlight the basic argument of Attachment Theory: The need for a significant other to help in engendering in the individual a sense of security, emotional regulation, and the ability to cope with difficult times. That is, the role of the significant other can be pivotal to more than feeling regulation. It can determine the impact and aftershocks of different traumatic events. Along with a host of other variables such as age and gender of trauma survivor, the presence of the significant other may mitigate the traumatic scars that will remain in the future.

Background: There are no studies that use validated questionnaires on Alcohol Related Harm (ARH) in order to assess retention of educational programs among medical students. Objective of study to assess retention of an educational inter-vention on ARH among medical students.

Method: Seventeen fifth year medical students were assessed with the Knowledge of Psychiatric Aspects of Alcohol Questionnaire (KPAAQ) 12 months after an educational intervention on ARH and compared with a control group.

Results: Significant retention was found in the study group.

Conclusions: This preliminary research is the first controlled study on medical student retention of an ARH educational intervention using a validated questionnaire.

In recent decades there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of eating disorders among non-Western populations. This article aims to address unique sociocultural issues regarding the procedure and dilemmas of the diagnosis process of eating disorders among Ethiopian adolescents in Israel. We will discuss cultural aspects relating to the perception of the disease and the circumstantial contexts relating to this population, such as the process of immigration, integration into Israeli society and issues related to identity and trauma. Diagnostic dilemmas relating to the differences between traditional vs Western perceptions of the illness will be discussed. For illustration, two case studies will be presented. In the discussion, a culturally-sensitive diagnostic model is proposed. Based on Cultural Formulation Interview, this model assumes that the observation of clinical cases from different cultural backgrounds cannot be achieved solely through a western diagnostic prism. Rather, we suggest that the diagnostic process should continue throughout the entire therapeutic process.

Background: This study examines the relationship between anorexia nervosa (AN), selflessness, and genderrole identity in young Israeli women and explores their parents' gender-role identity.

Method: Forty-seven AN women and 50 non-clinical controls completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT26), Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2), Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), and Selflessness Scale. Twenty-four parents from the AN group, and 41 mothers and 38 fathers from the control group also completed the BSRI.

Results: As predicted, masculine traits protected against the detrimental effects of selflessness on eating disorder symptoms. The AN participants obtained lower masculinity scores, their mothers also scoring lower on both the masculinity and femininity measures than the control-group. Conclusions drawn from the BSRI must be adopted with caution since gender-role characteristics may vary over time.

Conclusions: The findings suggest the need to integrate the self-psychological approach, which emphasizes the anorexic's tendency to ignore her own interests in favor of others' needs, with feminist views that stress the role society plays in putting pressure on women to become alienated from themselves.

Background: We examined the relationship between general ability of mentalization, the specific aspect of affective mentalizing of self and others, emotion regulation strategies, and eating disorder (ED) symptoms.

Method: Twenty-five female adolescent and young adult inpatients with EDs, and 22 healthy subjects, were administered a semi-structured interview - the Reflective Function (RF) scale, self-rating scales assessing alexithymia, emotion regulation, depression and ED symptomatology, and a neurocognitive measure assessing Theory of Mind.

Results: Participants with EDs presented lower levels of RF regarding the self and higher levels of alexithymia, using more emotional suppression and less cognitive reappraisal than controls. Elevated levels of general RF and self RF and attenuated alexithymia, along with elevated cognitive reappraisal and attenuated emotional suppression, were correlated with attenuated ED symptoms. Comorbidity with depressive symptoms predicted greater ED symptomatology.

Conclusions: High mentalization may serve as a coping mechanism to attenuate ED symptoms.

Background: Many studies have described perfectionism and low self-esteem as traits associated with eating disorders (ED). More recently, research has shown the role played by worry, rumination, control and metacognitive beliefs. This paper investigates the role played by cognitive and metacognitive variables in the psychopathological mechanism of eating disorders, assuming that not only perfectionism and low selfesteem but also metacognitive beliefs and processes can discriminate between controls and EDs.

Method: The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Anxiety Control Questionnaire, the Penn State Worry and the Metacognition Questionnaire were administered to the samples.

Results: Results suggested that metacognitive factors like negative beliefs about worry, uncontrollability and danger, need for control, and worry should be added to the body of cognitive factors underlying ED composed by the classical couple of cognitive factors including perfectionism and low self-esteem.

Conclusions: It is possible that an individual with ED assumes that metacognitive processes like worry and rumination are a further proof of his or her lack of value, capacity to control, and self-control. Such appraisals may reinforce the painful sense of low self-esteem so typical in ED and, in turn, the perfectionistic striving for excellence.

Background: Psychiatrists may face challenging core medical ethics questions since the media encourages their assistance and participation at various levels. This paper examines attitudes of psychiatrists regarding their involvement with the media and their view of their professional association in such incidents.

Methods: A survey was completed by a convenience sample of 81 Israeli psychiatrists. The specially designed questionnaire was compiled by the research team focusing on potential involvement of the psychiatrist regarding reality shows; discussing criminality and responsibility in the media; media involvement of the national psychiatric association and appearing in the media in matters of public education and mental health literacy.

Results: Psychiatrists are largely reluctant to engage with the mass media. At the same time, they support a strong media presence by their professional psychiatric association.

Conclusion: Professional psychiatry associations should consider deliberating the issue of media involvement further and contemplate further development of ethical recommendations on the issue.

Background: Emotional difficulties characterize eating disorders (ED). We examined the construct of alexithymia (disability to recognize and understand emotions) and neurocognitive factors of social cognition in patients diagnosed with B/P-EDs and their mothers.

Method: 34 mother-daughter dyads, in which the daughter has B/P-ED and 31 control dyads conducted subjective self-evaluation of alexithymia and underwent objective neuro-cognitive evaluation of their ability to recognize and understand emotions. Results were compared.

Results: First, significant differences were found between the daughters' groups on their subjective but not objective evaluation of alexithymia. Second, within group motherdaughter correlation was positive for controls, but not for the ED group.

Conclusions: People with B/P-ED show subjective high levels of alexithymia but not an objective deficit in emotional understanding. However, there is an interesting dis-correlation between them and their mothers, which calls for further research.